On an average, the interruption of power supply was 47.3 minutes every day in the past but it has come down to 26.7 minutes this year, officials claim.
| Photo Credit: File photo
Prompt response in attending to breakdowns in power supply, including damage to transmission and distribution lines and other installations due to heavy winds and untimely rains, and strengthening of infrastructure during the past five months by the field staff of the two power distribution utilities in Telangana have considerably brought down the duration of interruption in power supply.
According officials, breakdown in power supply in the limits of Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Ltd (TGSPDCL) during January-May period at 33 KV feeder level has come down by 43.5% this year compared to the same period last year.
On an average, the interruption of power supply was 47.3 minutes every day in the past but it has come down to 26.7 minutes this year. At 11 KV feeder level it has come down to 13.31 minutes or by 22.4% from 17.16 minutes.
The average time of interruption at 33 KV feeder level has decreased steeply, the officials said, adding that of the 1.8 crore customers in the State, the Southern Discom alone has 1.14 crore customers or 63.33% of the total.
The Southern Discom has 8,546 11 KV feeders and 1,422 33 KV feeders, together having 2.48 lakh km low-tension lines and 1.17 lakh km 11 KV line and 16,000 km 33 KV lines.
The power utility is conducting a study to further bring down the instances of breakdown in power supply due to falling of tree branches and other material on lines, tripping, snapping of jumper and problems at AB (air break) switches, HG (horn gap) fuse and distribution transformer structures by changing the metal used in the channel/arm of 33/11KV poles and others.
Similarly, in the limits of Northern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Ltd (TGNPDCL), the interruptions in power supply under 11 KV feeders (569) has come down by 31.22% in terms of duration and 29.51% in numbers. The officials explained that there were 57,771 instances of interruption during the January-May period last year, with a cumulative duration of 10,558 hours. This year, the instances were 40.724 and duration was 7,262 hours.
Chairman and Managing Director of the Northern Discom K. Varun Reddy said they had installed 3,335 new transformers of various capacities from December 2023 to May 2024 to prevent overloading of the transformers as part of their advance plans. In the previous year, 2,804 new transformers were installed during the same period.
He stated that tang tester readings were taken to understand the load on the transformers during the peak demand hours and based on the readings the capacity of transformers was increased to reduce load. As a result, transformer failures have come down by 25% and that of power transformers by 23% during the period.
