TIRUCHY: Following public outcry over difficulties encountered during power cuts, Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) has begun strictly enforcing a five-hour monthly maintenance shutdown window from 9 am to 2 pm. However, this has triggered concerns among field staff over completing critical maintenance works within the time frame curtailed by about two hours.
While the 9 am-2 pm schedule has always been the prescribed norm, maintenance teams had routinely extended shutdowns till 4 pm in urban areas and up to 5 pm in rural regions to complete essential tasks. Officials said the stricter enforcement, implemented over the past two weeks, is now limiting the scope for comprehensive maintenance.
C Kannan, state president of the United EB Workers and Engineers Union, said monthly shutdowns are crucial for ensuring system reliability. “Maintenance includes inspection and servicing of switches, feeder lines, transformers, circuit breakers, insulators and earthing systems, apart from testing equipment and allowing cooling time. These are not minor checks but essential preventive works,” he said.
The time required varies depending on feeder length and infrastructure complexity. “In rural areas, feeders stretch across long distances, requiring more time for inspection. In cities, though distances are shorter, dense networks and higher load demand make the work equally intensive,” Kannan said. He also stressed that maintenance duration should be fixed based on the specific requirements of each substation rather than a uniform time limit.
Maintenance operations are typically carried out by small teams comprising a wireman, helper and technical staff, under the supervision of officials based on substation capacity - Assistant Executive Engineers (AEE) for 230 kV substations, Assistant Engineers (AE) for 110/130 kV, and Junior Engineers (JE), Line Inspectors (LI) or Technical Inspectors (TI) for 33 kV systems. Kannan pointed out that nearly 40,000 vacancies across categories have further strained field operations.
District-level officials said completing multiple tasks within five hours is particularly challenging when repairs or replacements are required.
A senior regional-level TNPDCL official said earlier extensions were often necessary to ensure thorough maintenance. “With reduced time and pending works from recent months due to limited shutdowns during election-related restrictions and Assembly proceedings, there is a risk of equipment stress and failure if maintenance is rushed,” the official said. Defending the move, a senior state-level official said the decision was driven by public complaints over prolonged power cuts.
“The norm has always been 9 am to 2 pm, but extensions led to difficulties. To address consumer concerns, strict adherence is now being enforced,” the official said, adding that the situation would be reviewed if operational difficulties persist.
