Discom to spend ₹20 crore on infrastructure to reduce power cut in Noida
NOIDA: To avert power cuts during peak hours, the Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) has begun overhauling the old infrastructure in Gautam Budh Nagar district.
Chief engineer Virendra Nath Singh said that taking note of consumers’ frequent complaints about dilapidated poles, weak supply, old transmission lines and open pillar boxes, the PVVNL headquarters have released ₹20 crore for up-gradation works. “On the basis of tender, a Meerut-based agency has been awarded a contract to replace 17,500 poles, 990 air circuit breakers (ACBs) between transformers and low transmission power lines, and 11 kilowatt (kv) vacuum circuit breakers (VCBs),” he said.
He further said that the agency is also replacing 100 kilometers of 11kv wires, 80km of insulated conductor wires and 200 pillar boxes, besides chemical earthing in different areas and societies of GB Nagar. “Since the estimate for all these works is around ₹26 crore, we have sent the requisition of another ₹6 crore to the headquarters. We hope to get it on time as the agency has been asked to complete the assigned work on time to ensure that faults do not cause power cuts during the summer,” he said.
The chief engineer added that the first phase of the overhauling work has already started in some areas. “The process of replacing 300 poles, 10 kilometers of 11kv wires and five kilometers of insulated conductor wires in Sector 29 and 31 will be completed soon. As many as 25 uncovered pillar boxes will also be replaced in both these sectors. Not only that, to stop power theft in rural areas, it has been decided to use aerial bunched (AB) cable for overhead wiring,” he said.
Singh also said that a proposal for conversion of overhead supply wires into underground cables has also been sent to the headquarters for approval. “The technical feasibility of this proposal will also be discussed by higher authorities. After approval, there will be no overhead wires hanging in urban areas of Noida,” he said.