Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 6: With increased pressure on transformers installed by Power Development Department (PDD) for supplying electricity to people, their damage rate in Jammu region is 40 per cent during the summer months, with Department facing problem in repairing them due shortage of spare parts. Sources said that with people drawing extra electricity from the stations above the marked load, the service life of transformers has shortened, leading to frequent tripping at various places.
A senior officer from PDD said that at the moment installed capacity of every transformer is about six times the total agreed load of consumers fed from it with rate of damage of distribution transformers increasing every passing month, during summer months in Jammu region and winter months in Kashmir valley.
As per the data, during last year, as many as 5972 distribution transformers got damaged across the state, highest in the country. The department has two repairing stations, one at Pampore and other at Gladni.
"In many areas of state there have been line constraints like Bank overloading or Transmission Line overloading, as load growth has been very irregular and consumer cooperation absent, which has further compounded the problem.
Department claims that in absence of proper load schedule, department has no choice but to design a curtailment programme for metered and un-metered areas in the state.
"At various occasions, workshops are over burdened by these damaged transformers and to facilitate their speedy repairs, the department employs the service of Registered repairing agencies (Private firms) as well", officials said. PDD has registered twenty private workshops where it is sending the damaged feeder transformers for repairing, but due to the increased influx of damaged equipment, it is taking time to repair many of them. "There are very hard days ahead for the people as well as the PDD as the Central Transformer Pool in Jammu is running short of ready transformers", sources said. |
