Berhampur, March 17: Residents have received an assurance from the Southern Electricity Supply Company of Odisha (Southco) that there would be no power cut till June.

"We have asked our staff members to ensure that consumers get uninterrupted power supply during the summer. There will be no power cut till June this year. We have also asked our employees not to leave the headquarters till July," said Southco deputy general manager Lenka Prasad.

Southco has opened round-the-clock consumer centres at various places here. Any consumer can make a toll-free call to these centres in case of any electricity supply problem, said Prasad.

Scorching heat has forced many residents to use air coolers and air-conditioners in the city. "As a result of this, there is extra load on old and weak electricity supply wires," Prasad said.

However, the problem behind irregular power supply is sustenance of transformers. "At present, we have 3,600 transformers in the Berhampur zone. We have prepared ourselves to face the summer load and kept 250 transformers varying from 25KV to 250KV ready at the Khajuria central store to meet any eventualities. The electric supply company has also initiated steps to repair more than 200 old transformers." Prasad said.

Social activist Pravat Kumar Mohanty said these steps would help the residents observe the biennial festival of Buddhi Thakurani, popularly known as Thakurani yatra, without any hindrance.

It will commence from March 28 and continue for a month.

"Many persons visit the city to witness the yatra. During this time, people dress up as mythological characters such as Krishna, Balaram, Radha, Ram, Sita, Hanuman, Shiv, Parvati and Durga. They move around the town on bicycles, motorcycles and even on foot. Uninterrupted power supply is necessary for this occasion," said Mohanty.