Govt cancels contract with FEDCO for poor electricity services, TSECL take over all operations

The Power department of Tripura government has terminated its contract with FEDCO, a private company responsible for electricity services in 10 power subdivisions after its failure to fulfill consumer services.

Power and Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath addressing a press conference at Civil secretariat on Friday evening said that hundreds of customer complaints over the poor services of FIDCO and the company’s inability to fulfill its contractual responsibilities.

FEDCO had an agreement for 10-year with the state on July 1, 2020, promising to deliver reliable electricity services. However, the company’s performance as a franchisee of the FIDCO division fell short. “FEDCO did not uphold the terms of the contract, and complaints poured in regarding inadequate customer service and failure to conduct routine maintenance and repairs, " said Minister Nath.

An investigation by the Power department confirmed these failures and the government after serving notice to them has acted for the public interest.

On March 4, the government issued a formal notice to FEDCO, urging the company to address the issues and improve its services, but after warning, the situation became worsening, ultimately the state government had to cancel the contract.

FEDCO was responsible for providing electricity to 1,44,920 consumers across ten subdivisions: Sabroom, Satchand (South Tripura), Ambassa, Gandachara, Manu, Chawmanu (Dhalai), Mohanpur, Hejamara, Lefunga, and Bamutia (West Tripura). With the cancellation of the contract, Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) will take over operations in these areas. Minister Nath assured that none of FEDCO’s 370 employees would lose their jobs and would continue working on power-related tasks.