Chandigarh administration to upgrade its ageing electricity infrastructure

To meet the rising load demand in the southern sectors such as 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51 and 56, the authorities have proposed to provide new transformers at 66KV sub-station in Sector 47 at a cost of Rs 3.20 crore. The south sectors face frequent outages during the peak summer season due to overload of the transformers, which has been observed to be more than 95% in the last few years. As per the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission guidelines, load of a transformer cannot be more than 80% of its capacity.

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There is also a plan to upgrade the existing 33KV grid sub-station to 66KV by providing high-end 30 mega volt ampere (MVA), 66\1KV power transformer along with associated transmission line in Sector 34 at an estimated cost of Rs 7.2 crore.

The existing transmission system at Sarangpur requires strengthening of the transmission line to meet additional load. To address the issue, the authorities have proposed two 20MVA 66/11KV grid sub-stations in the institutional area of Sarangpur at a cost of Rs 9.2 crore.

To strengthen the distribution system, there is a plan to install 315 kilo volt amperes (KVA) distribution transformers in the vicinity of the city at different locations specifically at load centres. An estimate of Rs 6.53 crore has been prepared in this regard.

The administration also aims at providing 11KV automatic capacitor bank at various existing 66KV grid sub-stations across the city at Rs 9.7 crore.

As per the official records, at present, there is one 220KV sub-station, 13 66KV sub-stations and five 33KV sub-station in the city. Each sub-station has a life span of 25 years and around six 66KV sub-stations have completed the life span.

UT Finance Secretary Saravjit Singh maintained that the proposal had been prepared keeping in mind the power demand for the next 20 years. “The proposal has been prepared by keeping each and every aspect in mind. We have sent the proposal to the Government of India,” he said.

UT Adviser Vijay Kumar Dev termed the step perspective planning for providing 24×7 smart power supply.

Federation of Sector Welfare Associations Chandigarh (FOSWAC) chairman Baljinder Singh Bittu called the decision a step in the right direction. “The existing infrastructure desperately needs to be upgraded as the city residents have started facing unscheduled power cuts due to frequent breakdown,” said Bittu.