BHUBANESWAR: As successive tropical cyclones, including Fani and Amphan, exposed the chinks in the weak power structure, the State Government has decided to build a disaster-resilient power infrastructure in nine coastal districts.
The Government is planning to develop a calamity-proof power network in the coastal districts, prone to summer cyclones, in phases with an estimated cost of around Rs 19,000 crore.
This was discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy here on Thursday. It was decided to cover Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore and Jagatsinghpur districts under the plan in the first phase and five other coastal districts namely Puri, Cuttack, Khurda, Ganjam and Gajapati in the second phase.
As the underground cabling system implemented in the Twin City of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack is moving at a snail’s pace, the Chief Secretary instructed the executing agency Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) to complete the project as early as possible.
The Government had planned the underground cabling programme under the State Capital Region Improvement in Power System (SCRIPS) to ensure unfettered power supply in Twin City in 2013 when cyclone Phailin struck the State.
The meeting also decided that underground cabling would be done in town areas of these districts and cyclone-resilient overhead cabling would be done in rural areas.
Tripathy directed GIRDCO and OPTCL to form a ‘think tank’ comprising experts on technical, financial, quality monitoring, advocacy and regulative issues of the project under the plan.
Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Jena, who was Energy Secretary when Phailin hit the State, suggested that the overhead cabling and poles should be resilient to withstand wind speed up to 300 km per hour.
“The DP-mounted substations would be converted either into compact or retrofitting substations as per the suitability. All the 220 KV, 132 KV, 33 KV and 11 KV lines would be made cyclone resilient,” the draft plan said.
It has prescribed the use of H poles, which is used by the Railways for overhead transmission of electricity to locomotives, to withstand high-velocity winds.
“The incubation period for the project would be three years after necessary approval from the Centre,” said GRIDCO Director (Finance) Gagan Swain.