Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Power supply totters as consumption peaks

HYDERABAD: Summer heat is spiralling with vengeance and so is the power consumption in the city. With the sweltering heat poised to reach its zenith any time in near future, air conditioners and coolers are working round-the-clock resulting in huge power consumption.

The highest recorded power consumption so far was on April 17 at 18.83 million units. This is 3.3 million units higher than the average consumption in the month of April 07 and 2.41 million units higher than the same in May last year.

“Power consumption might reach 20 million units very soon,” says Victoria Krupa Danamma, CGM of Metro Zone, APCPDCL.

While the consumption is high , the supply seems to be falling pitifully short of the required spirit. Many areas in the city are having power interruptions ranging from 20 minutes to an hour or more at various times of the day.

The areas of Ranga Reddy district falling within the city limits need a special mention as voltage drops on regular basis during evenings.

However, lack of sub-stations, rather than lack of power availability is quoted to be the reason for the power cuts.

“Overloading of the Extra High Tension sub-stations is the reason for the unscheduled power cuts. Shifting loads to other sub-stations is becoming increasingly difficult as all of them are loaded to their full capacities,” says an official from Metro Zone.

EHT sub-stations are maintained by Transco and upon reaching 80 per cent of the capacity, the 33/11 KV distribution sub-stations are asked to release the loads. As a result, feeders coming under that particular sub-station are tripped one after the other, resulting in unscheduled power cuts.

“Solution lies in upgrading the EHT sub-stations by increasing the capacity of the transformers. It is difficult to carry out the exercise now as it involves long durations of power interruptions,” said the official. The transformers at EHT sub-stations have the possibility of being upgraded up to 160 MVA, while many of them at present have only capacities up to 50 MVA or 80 MVA.

Construction of alternative sub-stations too is needed as a long term measure so that loads may be shifted as per the requirement without interruption in supply. However, that seems to be a difficult task now considering the scarcity of land in the city. An EHT sub-station requires at least 2000 to 2500 square yards of space, which no institution is ready to part with, say sources.

“The situation in RR district is much better, as many corporate entities are offering space for construction of sub-stations due to their requirement of uninterrupted supply,” the sources said.

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