Heatwave sends power demand up by 23% in Faridabad, leading to cuts

Bijendra Ahlawat

Advertisement

Faridabad, May 21

Owing to the scorching heat, the demand for power supply has gone up by 23 per cent in the past three weeks. This has also resulted in a rise in the number of complaints of power cuts and disruption from many areas in the district.

Technical faults add to residents’ woes

• Snags in the distribution system and supply network are leading to power disruptions in both urban and rural areas.
• The faults have been attributed to factors such as breakdowns due to overloaded lines and overheating of transformers or substations, says an employee.
• He adds inclement weather conditions like windstorms or rainfall can cause such disruptions.
• “We had no power for around seven hours between 5 pm and midnight on Monday,” said Ajay Chaudhary of Sector 11.

The Faridabad circle of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) currently has over 5.65 lakh connections. The department supplied around 2.39 crore units of power on Monday, which has been the highest this year, according to the sources in the DHBVN.

While the supply was recorded at 2.22 crore units on Tuesday, it was pegged at 1.80 crore units about three weeks ago. The demand has been up over 23 per cent in this period. It is claimed that the heatwave conditions have led to the increased use of air conditioners and water coolers.

However, the availability is reportedly falling short to meet this surge due to snags or faults in the distribution system or supply network in both urban and rural areas.

The faults have been attributed to various factors, including breakdowns due to overloading of lines and overheating of transformers or substations, said an employee on condition of anonymity. He said inclement weather conditions like windstorms or rain also tended to cause such disruptions.

“We had no power for around seven hours between 5 pm and midnight on Monday,” said Ajay Chaudhary, a resident of Sector 11 here.

“Around 7,000 households of Sector 3 here are facing inconvenience due to disruptions caused by poor infrastructure and improper upkeep,” says Rattan Lal, secretary of a resident welfare association in the area.

He said the supply in the entire area had to be switched off as there was no control switch at these transformers. Besides, the loads is not divided properly on many transformers, he said. Subhash Lamba, vice-president of the Electricity Employees Federation of India, blamed the lack of timely repair work or poor replacement of the damaged/weak lines or network. He said disruption in power supply may range between two to six hours in many localities.

It is reported that densely populated colonies like Dabua Colony, Jawahar Colony, Sanjay Colony, parts of the NIT, Ballabhgarh and Greater Faridabad, are among those which had been faced with the problem. The department had been receiving an average of 1,500 to 2,000 complaints daily, reveal sources.

Claiming that there were no official cuts or shortage in supply, a senior official of the department said disruptions could be due to local faults. All the complaints were being attended promptly, it is added.