Gram panchayats and urban local bodies (ULBs) owe Mescom ₹305.84 crore for supplying power, according to K. Harish Kumar, chairman of the company.Addressing presspersons here on Saturday evening, Mr. Kumar, a former MLC, said that gram panchayats owe ₹298.19 crore for supplying electricity to streetlights and water supply installations, while urban local bodies are yet to pay ₹7 crore for the same.He said the company suffered a loss of ₹25.77 crore due to heavy winds and rain between April 1 and August 26 this year. In all, 17,770 electric poles and 496.37 km of power supply lines were damaged during the period. Heavy losses were reported in Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, and Shivamogga districts.The company has approved replacing the existing power supply lines in elephant corridors and forest areas with covered conductors. This project will be taken up shortly in Puttur, Shivamogga, Sagar, Chikkamagaluru, Koppa, and Kundapur areas.He said that a 33 kV underground power supply line will be laid between Kavoor and Urwa Market. The contract for the project has been awarded and it will be taken up shortly. Laying this underground line will help in supplying uninterrupted power to Mangaluru city limits.In addition, overhead power supply lines in Ullal, Mannagudda, and Kavoor are being replaced with underground lines. The areas include Ullal city municipality, Kumpala, Bagembila, Kolya, Uchhila, Someshwara, Kudroli Temple Road, Lady Hill Road, PVS Circle, Dongarakery, Bejai, Hat Hill, Daddalakad, Bejai Kapikkad, and Bondel-Kavoor Road.The company has approved the purchase of 5,450 electric transformers of different capacities to replace non-functional ones. It has also approved the purchase of 705 non-contact voltage detectors for the safety of linemen. In addition, approval for the purchase of a vehicle to transport an underground cable fault locator device has been given. The company has approved the opening of 14 shops to sell smart meters to consumers for the next five years, the chairman said. Published - August 30, 2026 07:15 pm IST