Poor upkeep of grids hits supply in Bathinda zone Jupinderjit Singh/TNS Bathinda, July 21 Voltage fluctuation and power outages have become the order of the day in the region due to poor upkeep of 66 KV grid substations and transmission lines. Acute shortage of power staff and limited infrastructure have added to the problem. Sources said men and machinery in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) were under heavy stress, which could lead to a major crisis like last month’s gird failure at Moga. As per the norms, each substation engineer (SSE), who is an SDO rank engineer, should look after four to six grids and there should be 30 to 35 grids under each senior executive engineer. But all the 205 grids of 66 KV each of Bathinda (west) zone, comprising Bathinda, Mansa, Mukatsar, Moga, Faridkot, Fazilka and Ferozepur districts, are being handled by only 10 SSEs, four senior executive engineers and one SE (P&M). Senior executive engineers at Bathinda and Muktsar are looking after as many as 67 and 50 grids, respectively. There are only 116 junior engineers against the requirement of 205. The sources said though there were two power plants in the Bathinda zone, the voltage at grids remained low mainly due to overloading and lack of capacitors at the grids. The PSPCL has been asking the agricultural power and industrial consumers to install capacitors on motors and use CFL and star-rated appliances to avoid voltage fluctuations. However, the corporation itself has failed to install adequate capacitors at most of the transformers installed at 66 KV grids. The capacitors help in regulating voltage and flow of current. Out of 275 power transformers in the zone, 162 are without capacitors. As per norms, 5 per cent variation in voltage is permitted, but it is ranging between 15 per cent and 24 per cent. Low voltage causes damage to electrical equipment and transformers, besides leading to higher transmission and distribution losses. GS Dhaliwal, Chief Engineer, west zone, said the shortage of staff was being managed by outsourcing some of the work. “We have added new grids. The process of recruiting staff is on. We do not face any voltage fluctuation or power outages. Our system is working fine,” he claimed. He said capacitors were not required at all places. “We have installed these wherever there was a need. These are technical matters and we are handling them well”. He claimed the PSPCL had made elaborate arrangements for meeting power requirements in the paddy season. Under stress •Acute shortage of power staff and limited infrastructure have added to the problem •All the 205 grids of 66 KV each of Bathinda (west) zone are being handled by only 10 substation engineers, four senior executive engineers and a superintending engineer •There are only 116 junior engineers against the requirement of 205
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 08:02:01 +0000
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