BENGALURU: Parts of Namma Bengaluru are now experiencing frequent power cuts because of maintenance work, according to officials from the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom).
“Power leaks and other technical issues, including transmission and distribution (T&D) losses, can be addressed only by switching off power supply and managing with existing equipment. Prices of conductors, reactors, capacitors and other equipment have gone up. The state is unable to meet the rising costs.
So, to make do with what we have, power supply is being switched off at regular intervals to undertake maintenance work,” a senior KPTCL official said. As per data from the energy department, T&D losses amount to around 2.9% per annum, plus or minus 0.5%. This is the maximum limit set by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC).
The official said, “We have reached the saturation point. To reduce it, we need funds. Also, the demand for power increases from January when temperatures rise. To ensure that high-voltage capacitors and lines do not snap, we launched maintenance work early this year.”
A Bescom official said, “Whether there is peak load or not, we have to undertake regular maintenance work. Otherwise, power lines, transformers and other equipment will run into problems as they are old. Large sums of money are needed to upgrade or replace them.
Instead, we are switching off power lines at regular intervals at problematic locations to undertake repair work in advance.”
A route map is being prepared to check the power network across the state. Karnataka has over 40,000 km of power network. Of this, 4,000 km is in Bengaluru. “New city corporations and various government departments will start civil works soon. Hence, we decided to initiate the task of shifting utilities in advance. This will help reduce power cuts during summer and monsoon,” the Bescom official said