Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar, Dec 2: With the early arrival of bone chilling winters and mammoth consumption of electricity all together, on an average at least 50 Distribution Transformers (DTs) of different load capacity are getting damaged every day in Kashmir valley.
A top official of Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) informed that from the past more than a month, a huge number of DTs were damaged with some getting repaired immediately while others were taken to the workshops.
“On an average, at least 50 DTs are getting damaged every day. The main reason for the damage to DTs is overloading and using crude heating gadgets,” the official said.
He said, “Most of the DTs were getting damaged in rural areas wherein most of the consumers are unmetered.”
About the damage cost of DTs, the official said, “On an average, the majority of the damaged DTs cost from Rs 2 Lakh to Rs 2.5 Lakh.”
In the meantime, KPDCL in a statement said that in the month of November at least 1043 DTs were damaged and 1035 were restored simultaneously.
Chief Engineer (Distribution) of KPDCL, Aaquib Waheed Deva in a statement advised the consumers to adjust their heating load at the time of resumption of power supply after curtailment hours.
“Snapping of power within 15 or 20 minutes is primarily due to simultaneously powering on all heating gadgets,” she said.
The Chief Engineer assured that if the heating load is judiciously synchronized within the sanctioned load of consumers, unscheduled power outages will disappear.
Deva further stated that KPDCL was maintaining its Buffer Stock of 1554 DTs by reclaiming its damaged DTs in various Divisional Workshops as well as Central Workshop Pampore.
