All Exams Test series for 1 year @ ₹349 only
Question

The Power Finance Corporation has reported that the aggregate technical and commercial (AT and C) losses of discoms have gone up from 20.7 percent in 2019-20 to 22.3 percent in 2020-21. The AT & C estimate gives us an idea of the losses a distribution company (discom) faces in its line of business. In layman's terms, if discom has received 100 units of power, the AT & C figure will tell us how many units are not recovered in terms of revenue. So, a figure of 25 per cent would mean that for every 100 units of power fed into the discom, 25 units are not recovered. Consequently, the discom has to operate with a recovery of only 75 units.

Broadly, the losses in the system comprise technical losses and commercial losses, the latter largely implying theft. Some technical losses are inevitable in a distribution system but these can vary a lot across discoms (roughly between 4 to 12 per cent) depending on the technology adopted, the condition of the distribution infrastructure etc. Commercial losses are due to meters not being read, faulty meters, meters being manipulated or bypassed etc. The Indian distribution system has always faced high AT & C losses (in excess of 30 per cent in the early 2000s) which drains the discoms financially and makes then economically unviable.

Commercial losses to discoms arise mainly from ___
A. Technical losses
B. Faulty meters
C. Meters being bypassed or manipulated
D. Meters not being read
Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

This question was previously asked in
UGC NET 2023 Home Science Question Paper (13-Dec-2023) (Shift 1)
The correct answer is

B, C and D only

This question asks us to identify, directly from the passage, what causes commercial losses.
The passage states this explicitly: 'Commercial losses are due to meters not being read, faulty meters, meters being manipulated or bypassed etc.' Matching this sentence to the options: B. Faulty meters — directly named. C. Meters being bypassed or manipulated — directly named. D. Meters not being read — directly named. All three of these appear as causes of commercial losses in the passage.
A. Technical losses, however, is explicitly treated by the passage as a separate, distinct category from commercial losses: 'Broadly, the losses in the system comprise technical losses and commercial losses, the latter largely implying theft.' Since technical and commercial losses are presented as two different components of AT&C loss, technical losses cannot themselves be a cause of commercial losses — so A does not belong in this list.
Therefore, only B, C, and D are causes of commercial losses according to the passage, and the correct answer is B, C and D only.

Was this answer helpful?

Similar Questions

  1. The passage indicates that one of the responsibilities of a firefighter is to.

  2. The passage states that, compared with people who do not have smoke detectors, persons who live in homes with smoke detectors have a

  3. A smoke detector should not be installed near a window because

  4. A smoke detector must always be placed

  5. Subliminal communication is part of.

  6. What is the main focus of this passage?

  7. The relation between democracy and development can be seen through their

  8. The central theme of the passage is:

  9. The interpretation of democracy depends upon

  10. Development should be comprehensively measured in terms of


Important Questions from Miscellaneous

  1. A stone is thrown horizontally from the top of a 20 m high building with a speed of 12 m/s. It hits the ground at a distance R from the building. Taking g = 10 m/s2 and neglecting air resistance will give :

  2. A sphere of volume V is made of a material with lower density than water. While on Earth, it floats on water with its volume f1V (f1 < 1) submerged. On the other hand, on a spaceship accelerating with acceleration a < g (g is the acceleration due to gravity on Earth) in outer space, its submerged volume in water is f2V. Then:

  3. A railway wagon (open at the top) of mass M1 is moving with speed v1 along a straight track. As a result of rain, after some time it gets partially filled with water so that the mass of the wagon becomes M2 and speed becomes v2. Taking the rain to be falling vertically and the water stationery inside the wagon, the relation between the two speeds v1 and v2 is :

  4. Consider the following statements:

    1. Distance between the longitudes becomes zero on North Pole and South Pole.

    2. Distance between the longitudes is maximum on the Equator.

    3. Number of longitudes is more than number of latitudes.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  5. One block of 2⋅0 kg mass is placed on top of another block of 3⋅0 kg mass. The coefficient of static friction between the two blocks is 0⋅2. The bottom block is pulled with a horizontal force F such that both the blocks move together without slipping. Taking acceleration due to gravity as 10 m/s2, the maximum value of the frictional force is :

Need Expert Advice?
Upcoming Exams
CTET
September 06, 2026
MH SET
September 06, 2026
Test Series
UGC NET img
Teaching
UGC NET Library and Information Science 2024 - 2025 Mock Test Series
66 Tests 4 Tests Free
716 Attempts
4.4(17)
English, Hindi

Start Your Preparation with Prepp Mobile App

Download the app from Google Play & App Store
Download the app from Google Play & App Store
Prepp Mobile App