Transformer failures down in Telangana

The drop in transformer failures had resulted in a sharp drop in expenditure besides minimising inconvenience faced by people, the Minister informed the State Assembly.

Hyderabad: Transformer failures in Telangana State have drastically dropped from 30 per cent to 10 per cent now while the transmission losses in the State were only 2.5 per cent that is much lower than most States, Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy said on Thursday.

The drop in transformer failures had resulted in a sharp drop in expenditure besides minimising inconvenience faced by people, the Minister informed the State Assembly. “The success achieved in the electricity sector was the result of total dedication of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the hard work of the electricity staff and the efficient supervision of the officers,” he said.

Stating that Telangana created a record by giving 24-hour quality power supply to farmers and other sectors in the State, the Minister said Telangana’s power utilities occupied the top position in the country in effective supply of power and reducing losses without imposing additional burden on the government.

“More than 23,000 permanent employees along with 8,500 recruits were playing a crucial role in rendering services to the people. Right from linemen, station operators to Transco Chairman and Managing Director, everyone has been working hard to ensure quality power supply to all sectors in the State,” he said and pointed out that the per capita power consumption of the State was now 2,071 units against the country’s 1,108 units, placing the Telangana in the first position in per capita electricity consumption in the country.

 

Earlier, the peak demand in the 23 districts of undivided Andhra Pradesh was 13,162 MW, while the peak demand in Telangana alone now was 13,562 MW, the Minister said. Despite peak demand, the power utilities supplied power without interruptions, the Minister said, adding that arrangements are in place to supply, transmit and distribute power even if the peak demand touches 17,000 MW.

He said 355 EHT sub-stations, 3,093 33/11KV sub-stations, 7.62 lakh distribution transformers were provided in the State. Earlier, it used to take one week to 10 days to sort out glitches in transformers. The situation has now changed with the officials completing the process in 24 hours in villages and six hours in cities.

To a question by an MIM MLA, the Minister said the State government had spent Rs 380 crore in the Old City for transmission and distribution apart from installing transformers and constructing sub-stations. He said that a meeting would be convened with the MLAs from the Old City after completion of the Assembly session on Friday to discuss the problems related to the power supply.