Equipped with thermal imaging cameras, the officials of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) will soon be able to predict which of its transformers has a chance of failing and will be able to fix the issue, thus preventing power cuts.
Part of efforts by the energy utility to increase its preventive maintenance, the project has been launched in eight divisions of BESCOM. The pilot project will cover Peenya, HSR Layout, Rajajinagar, Shivajinagar, Chandapura, Tumkur, Kolar and Hiriyur.
“By this December, around 37,500 transformers in these divisions will be covered by this technology,” a senior official said.
BESCOM will initially map transformers in areas using Geographic Information System (GIS) data. The next step involves imaging these transformers with the thermal imaging camera, which will highlight potential hotspots that occur due to overload or excess heat.
A target of one week has been assigned for the staff to fix the issues found at transformers using the imaging method.
“We will repeat this exercise at periodical intervals and this will help us prevent power cuts arising due to transformer failure,” the official added.
BESCOM has 1,76,952 distribution transformers in its jurisdiction across Bangalore city.