Power Interruptions:
No Regret!
By
Zubair Ahmed
Electricity
department never had an enviable record of efficient service, but for a short
period. Nagging interruptions of short and long durations, twenty five to thirty
times a day says a lot about a department, which is entangled more in
litigations and arbitrations rather than efficient power supply to consumers.
There
is no shortage in generation. The peak load demand in South Andaman is just
touching 38 MW and the generating capacity above 40 MW. The consumers are in
perpetual distress though. Nobody knows when the supply would trip and one
would be plunged in darkness. The irritating on now, off now keeps on playing
hide and seeks with the poor consumers. Whether there is wind, storm, rain or a
clear weather, interruptions continue.
There
are no explanations. In our country no service provider ever offers an
explanation nor extends an apology though. Except of course, Doordarshan in
good old days, when it used to say ‘Sorry for interruption’ or ‘Rukawat ke liye
khed hai’.
Recently, a series of review meetings were held by
the Lieutenant Governor to take stock of the status of various departments.
And, Electricity Department was also one
of them. It was heartening to note that various long-term plans are envisioned.
Liberating the Islands from diesel-based power
generation seems to be the mantra. Ambitious projects like CNG-based power
plant, exploration of tidal wave energy, wind energy and solar energy are part
of the vision.
As of now, except the 5 MW Solar Plant and the
hydel project at Diglipur, the whole territory is energised by diesel gensets
operated by the Department, Independent Power Plant and Hired Power Plants.
The total installed capacity of Diesel Generating
Power stations run by Electricity
Department in A&N
Islands
The two power houses at Chatham
and Phoenix Bay
The private players generates 80% of required power
in South Andaman. The performance of Dept run power houses are nothing to go
gaga about.
The total peak time requirement in South Andaman is
37 MW. Presently, there is no power shortage with surplus power generation in
South Andaman, but the situation as far as power supply is concerned is not
very good. The Transmission and Distribution Loss is still around 18-19%. Most
of the rural areas experience long spells of powerlessness and is plunged into
darkness due to poor transmission lines and lack of maintenance.
"As the DG sets at Chatham
and Phoenix Bay
The focus of the department might be on increasing generation,
but the real problem lies somewhere.
The transmission network in South Andaman is in complete
disarray. With a leaf falling on power line in Jirkatang, 18 villages under
Bambooflat feeder will be plunged into darkness. A snap in Shoal Bay
In fact, the solution doesn't require rocket
science, but willpower and a sense of urgency to overcome the crisis, which is
lacking. It was decided long back that a sub-station will be set up close to
the power house at Bambooflat bifurcating Panel 5 feeder into three feeders,
reducing downtime incase of faults.
The Lieutenant Governor, when visited Stewart Gunj
on his familiarization tour on 8th August 2013, the matter was brought to his notice
by Citizens Forum.
In the presence of the Lieutenant Governor, the
senior officials of the department had promised to complete the installation of
sub-station by September 2013. The work is still on and without much progress.
"Due to delay in civil works, the project got
stuck," said Raveendran, SE in Charge. "However, now the building is
ready and installation of panels are on the way and we are expediting the work
and it might take another two months," he said.
The line which goes to Ferrar Gunj is most
vulnerable and prone to failure most of the time during day and night. The
Department doesn't seems to have a solution yet. And the irony is that many
villages in between Wimberly Gunj and Ferrar Gunj has to bear the brunt if the
line trips anywhere in Mile Tilak or Jirkatang.
"We have been approaching the department at
all levels to connect the transformer at Knappuram directly from Wimberly
Gunj," said a resident who has been taking up the issue regularly.
"There is acute shortage of manpower, spares
and materials to carry out the work,' said Raveendran, who is also Executive
Engineer, South Andaman.
Its ghastly that procurement of cables and other
materials to carry out the repair and maintenance is the reason behind delay in
carrying out the works. The Store is directly under the purview of
Superintending Engineer, who is not even aware of the requirements. Even after placing
indents, it never gets the attention of the seniors, who are mostly invisible.
The junior staff at various site offices in rural
areas have to face the music for no fault of theirs.
The issue of power crisis in Rangat and Mayabunder
region is nothing but artificial. Three DG Sets with an installed capacity of 1
MW was hired by the Department from Tractor India
With the DG sets installed near the Power House at
Panighat, near Austin
Strait
Wherever the Department has engaged private players
to generate power, it is on constant dispute and on collision course. And at
the same time, the department run power houses have an all time record of
sub-optimal performance as well as high cost of generation.
Its high time, the Administration takes serious
note of the situation of transmission and distribution and judiciously
distribute the costly power generated by Diesel run DG Sets. Or, all the talk
about austerity and saving power by consumers doesn't make sense when the
Department practically fails in supplying the generated power to the consumers.