Power & water cuts worsen winter woes

Meanwhile,the water supply cuts are due to the work being undertaken by the Municipal Corporation (MC) to make the SCADA system functional. The problem of electricity supply cuts is being faced in most sectors. The cuts are both scheduled and unscheduled,ranging between half an hour and one hour. In some sectors,the duration is more.

The requirement of electricity in the UT during winters is around 200 megawatts. However,at present 140 to 160 megawatts are being received.

Due to the gap in demand and supply of power,cuts are being faced. Officials stated that overdrawal from the grid at low frequency can lead to failure of the grid system.

Superintending Engineer (Electricity) M P Singh said that the power cuts are likely to continue in the coming days. “The generation of electricity is less during winters. At some plants,annual maintenance work is undertaken during these months. In case additional power is required,the cost per megawatt is substantially higher than the rate at which it is supplied to consumers,” he said.

More power cuts are experienced during peak consumption hours. Due to the night temperature being as low as 2.8 degrees,the use of heaters and geysers has led to an increase in the consumption of power. The electricity department is now considering fixing the time for rotational cuts for industry.

Meanwhile,water supply shutdowns are being availed on some days in order to undertake work on installation of valves for completion of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. With five more valves to be installed,the residents would have to brace for cuts in water supply.

The cuts in water supply have led to a reduction in supply hours. In case of multi-storey houses,a problem of low water pressure is being faced on upper storeys.

Superintending Engineer (Public Health) R C Diwan said that the residents would be given notice before cuts are availed.

At some places where valves are to be installed,work is likely to take 18 hours. Some sectors would then have to face water supply cuts.