VIJAYAWADA: Chief Secretary K Vijayanand instructed the AP power utilities to take all possible measures to avoid hazardous incidents due to the flex banners placed near electric poles. He asked the officials to launch a special drive to remove the flex banners that were hung across electric supply poles and wires with the support of the local bodies. He said that the flex banners often cause outages and accidents. He directed the officials to regulate the fixation of flex banners on electricity poles to prevent such hazards.In a virtual review with the top officials of the power utilities, the Chief Secretary stressed that any disruption in power supply must be addressed immediately and resolved without delay. He asked the officials to ensure quality and uninterrupted power supply to electricity consumers in the state.The Chief Secretary emphasised the need to maintain and strengthen the level of public satisfaction in the electricity department by proactively ensuring there are no inconveniences or power outages. He directed APCPDCL to establish teams at each mandal capable of quickly identifying jumper faults, hanging wires, and low-voltage issues, and to resolve them immediately to maintain uninterrupted electricity. He also advised the use of drone technology to monitor inaccessible areas for jumper or wire issues and instructed that detected faults must be repaired at the earliest.Stating that the state govt places high trust in the electricity department, he urged all employees from CMD down to linemen to work collectively to boost consumer satisfaction and ensure preventive measures, particularly ahead of the rainy season, to avert accidents. The Chief Secretary assured continued power supply to households, commercial establishments, and industries, and advised the department to focus on preventing “tripping” events (brief interruptions) and eliminate them proactively. He instructed that in any instance of power disruption, alternate power lines should be deployed to restore electricity. He also advised that during repair work, both the power department and ward secretariats should inform consumers in advance.APCPDCL CMD P Pulla Reddy reported that 1,503 agricultural feeders are receiving continuous nine-hour power supply, and residents and commercial consumers across municipalities, mandals, and villages are being served without any load relief. The senior officials explained that 79 of the 81 feeder breakdowns were restored on the same day on June 24. Among 170 failed Distribution Transformer (DTR) units, 110 were immediately repaired, and steps are underway to restore the remaining 60. There are currently approximately 1,440 healthy DTRs in operation. He said that their top priority is to ensure quality and uninterrupted electricity for all consumer categories, and that efforts are on to further strengthen power infrastructure and customer service.
