Powerless and helpless in Silicon Plateau

Powerless and helpless in Silicon Plateau
Despite Residents Left In The Dark On And Off, Bescom Officials Maintain Situation Is ‘Near Normal’
S Nandagopal | TNN

Bangalore: Since last week, Hema and her family, along with over one hundred families in Indiranagar II Stage, 7th Main, have been in the dark on and off. Residents of several areas in the east of the city complain of power cuts lasting over eight hours a day.
Intermittent power disruptions in Marathalli, Mahadevpura and adjoining areas have left residents in the lurch. Power woes continue to pour in from other parts of the city as well.
Erratic power supply has become normal, but officials maintain that the situation is ‘near normal’. Though the city has no scheduled load shedding, the ground reality is grim darkness.
While the failure of a transformer at Hoodi station has jeopardised power supply to as many as 12 sub-stations in the city, thunderstorms, attitude of the local Bescom personnel and other factors have worsened the situation. “We are being given evasive answers,” Hema said, adding, “For over 72 hours, there’s no power supply and there’s no one to listen to us. Water supply has been affected too. We have been calling all possible numbers but to no avail,’’ she said.
Personnel in sub-stations concede that during thundershowers, power is switched off to avoid any untoward incidents. A tree fall or snapping of a live wire due to strong winds can be detrimental, they say. Asked about the response time for complaints, an assistant engineer maintained his staff would be on the job within three hours of a complaint being filed. But residents say it’s not so.
Complaints are pouring in from all quarters, but officials maintain that the problem is not “alarming”. Bescom managing director Gonal Bhimappa told
The Times of India
that the repairs of the Hoodi transformer had affected some areas, but the power cuts have been minimised elsewhere.
The Bescom, in association with BBMP, is trimming tree branches so that there is no trouble during the rain, he said, adding that this too had to be stopped in some areas owing to opposition by environmentalists. “We are hopeful that the KPTCL will complete the work in time so that the normal supply can be restored,” he said.
Meanwhile, a senior KPTCL official said the Hoodi transformer will be commissioned by this weekend. The transportation of the spare transformer from Rajajinagar to Hoodi took almost two days and that delayed its commissioning, he added. However, the corporation will be commissioning the transformer within the stipulated time of 20 days notified earlier, he said.
A CLOSER LOOK
What’s the cause of intermittent power supply?
There is no intermittent power supply — that’s Bescom’s line. The city has been experiencing intermittent supply due to varied factors — failure of a transformer at Hoodi; power shortage despite the agreement to procure 400 MW power from Punjab, only about 200 MW is being released; thunderstorm and lightning; residents also complain of arrogant linemen.
How long will it last?
If there’s more rain, the situation is likely to ease within a fortnight. Hoodi transformer is likely to be restored within a week. This transformer supplies 100 MW power to Hoodi village, Mahadevapura, Indiranagar, JB Nagar, Airport Road, Marathalli, NGEF and surroundings areas.
Why are there sudden power fluctuations?
During a thunderstorm, power is switched off and at times the safety fuse trips. It is natural that there are some spikes (high voltage) when the power is switched on. However, one has to be careful about equipment which do not have in-built spike busters (voltage controller).