COIMBATORE: The power grid has come under severe strain in Coimbatore city, especially in the late evening, resulting in frequent blowing of control fuses or transformer breakdown. TANGEDCO officials attribute this to a sharp spike in the use of air-conditioners and fans in homes as people seek succour from the intense summer heat. The trend has been observed since the beginning of April when heat started to rise, unlike previous years.
Though Tamil Nadu’s electricity demand crossing 20, 863 Megawatt and continuing to rise day by day, the supply infrastructure has not been appropriately upgraded to meet this surge in demand, leading to equipment breakdowns and power interruptions.
Coimbatore city witnesses power cuts mostly in the night hours when people use ACs the most. Sources in Tangedco Coimbatore said power cuts are reported often from Ukkadam, Athupalam, Karumbukadai and surrounding areas.
The field staff explain that excessive load on transformers damages control fuses, which are vital components for regulating the flow of electricity. When these control fuses fail, it leads to disruptions in the power supply, causing outages. “The surge in AC use has strained the electricity distribution infrastructure, particularly on transformers. A 100 kVA distribution transformer is designed to handle a maximum load of 133 amperage but we restrict it to a maximum of 70 - 80 kVA for the safety of the transformer. However, they are now handling up to 130 kVA (180 to 190 amperage). With such overload, the control fuse of the transformer often burns out and causes blackouts. We are forced to either change a fuse or the entire transformer. It takes one or two hours to fix the issue,” said an assistant engineer of Tangedco.
As the surge of AC usage among the public is unpredictable, the officer said the department should learn lessons from this year’s experience and be better prepared for future summers.
Nature development to accommodate the increased demand during the summer months. While there may be sufficient power supply, the lack of infrastructure upgrades to handle the additional load results in power interruptions. Increasing the number of transformers will help to manage the issue. The load will be divided when we have additional transformers. We have raised the issue with our higher officials,” the officer added.
An officer in the rank of superintending engineer said since April 15.
The peak demand is from 11 pm when most of the transformers face breakdowns. “We came to know that a home appliances firm in Gandhipuram has sold nearly 40,000 ACs so far this year which is evident how the use of AC is increasing in every household. This will automatically increase load on transformers. The load is one and half fold higher this year which means a transformer capacity of 100 kVA, has to handle 150 kVA.”
The intense heat also has an effect on the working of the transformers, he added. “Usually, transformers emit heat. This year the weather is adding additional heat triggering frequent breakdowns. Amid these issues, we are managing the supply and there is no major disruptions. Taking this as experience, we are gearing for next summer,” he said.
Explaining their effort in attending the breakdowns, the officer said they receive complaints through Tangedco’s Customer Care Minnagam 94987 94987 and through the field staff. “Usually, a single complaint would mean it is a fault in a house connection. But when it goes beyond one, we consider it as a complaint to the distribution line. The faults and the breakdowns are being managed by the field staff category of gang man. We are managing the work with an available manpower, the officer said.