High-velocity winds disrupt power supply in Punjab

Patiala, May 18

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High-velocity winds damaged numerous electricity poles and transformers on Wednesday night. As a result, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) suffered loss worth crore of rupees, especially in Malwa.

Rs 18 crore loss: PSPCL

“Affecting around 600 11 kV feeders, the thunderstorm damaged 6,900 poles and 1,800 transformers, besides other equipment. The total loss has been assessed at Rs 18 crore. The PSPCL addressed over 50,000 outage-related complaints,” said the power utility in a statement

The PSPCL officials said, “Transformers, electricity poles and trees got uprooted, which led to power failure in many parts of the state. The power utility was flooded with complaints. Certain areas faced power cuts for more than 10 hours.”

While the power was restored in many districts by noon, the PSPCL employees were trying hard to repair the remaining damaged lines.

81 power grids damaged in Sangrur

• Out of 81 power grids situated in Sangrur circle, 24 suffered severe damage. This led to tripping in 66 kV electricity lines throughout the entire district
• Sangrur circle includes five divisions—Sangrur, Sunam, Lehragaga, Dirba and Patran. A total of 551 poles and 178 transformers suffered damage
• RK Mittal, Superintending Engineer, PSPCL, said, “We have been working since the midnight. The storm affected 60 per cent area in the Sangrur circle.”

Baldev Singh Sran, CMD, PSPCL, said, “Strong winds damaged 220-kV supply lines and transformers. Our field staff is working since 5 am. The power supply will be restored at the earliest. I am personally monitoring the situation, which is normal in majority of the districts.”

“Malwa was the worst affected. Power infrastructure in Muktsar, Bathinda, Faridkot, Fazilka, Barnala, Sangrur, Patiala, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Mohali and Fatehgarh Sahib suffered maximum damage,” the PSPCL officials said, adding that after restoring supply to urban areas, they would work on rural areas.

Monitoring situation

The storm damaged numerous 220-kV supply lines and transformers. Our field staff is working since 5 am. The power supply will be restored at the earliest. I am personally monitoring the situation. Baldev Singh Sran, cmd, pspcl

“The load, which dropped from 7,000 MW to 2,500 MW during the storm, increased to 5,400 MW by 8.45 am, showing that supply has been restored in many areas,” said Sran. “By evening, the state load was back to normal,” he said.