AP power utilities are making all out efforts to restore power supply in the Hudhud cyclone devastated areas on the AP coastal line mainly in the worst hit Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts where restoration and relief operations are in full swing.
Ajay Jain, Secretary, Energy, who is continuously reviewing the cyclone relief works with regard to power sector, said the cyclone, gale and wind gushing at around 200 km speed has caused severe bus and earth faults which in turn damaged the substation equipment, poles, transformers and Transmission & Distribution lines and so on. Two 400 KV Substations, ten 220 KV Substations, twenty-five 132 KV Substations are severely hit by the cyclone. Some 20,000 poles are broken/damaged apart from shutting down of 2000 MW Simhadri power plant. Ajay Jain, directors and other senior officers are staying throughout the night in State Load Despatch Centre/Vidyut Soudha for effective monitoring and personally supervising the power supply restoration works on minute to minute basis.
Meanwhile, start-up power supply to Simhadri, 2000 MW power plant at Visakhpatnam is restored from Vemagiri 400 KV Substation. Officials are putting all out efforts to arrange alternate supply from any of the following sources to Visakhapatnam by tonight. 1) From 132 KV Tuni – Koruprolu, Parawada & Gajuwaka; 2) From 132 KV Pithapuram – Brandix – Gajuwaka; 3) From Parwada – 220 KV Vizag switching station (VSS); 4) From Gajuwaka – 220 KV Vizag Switching Station.
The Energy Secretary also said cyclone has affected power supply in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram badly and Srikakulam district partially. All engineers, employees, O&M staff are putting all out efforts without availing any leave/holiday during this period of natural calamity.
K. Vijayanand, CMD/APTRANSCO & MD/APGENCO who had rushed to Visakhapatnam for looking after the restoration works informed that 2000 personnel consisting of Engineers & workers are deployed from APSPDCL to cyclone affected areas of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam which come under the jurisdiction of APEPDCL. .
As part of its gesture, Telangana Govt. extending helping hand to cyclone affected areas of AP, Kartikeya Misra, JMD/Telangana State Transmission Corporation Limited informed Ajay Jain, that the material worth of Rs. 13.0 Crores is dispatched from Erragadda Central Stores, Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram & Srikakulam Districts for restoration of power supply at the earliest. In a bid to bring the normalcy in the power supply position, the 160 KVA DTRs X 50 Nos., 100 KVA DTRs X 80 Nos., 63 KVS DTRs X 100 Nos., 25 KVA DTRs X 300 Nos., 9.1 mts length Cement Poles X 500 Nos., 8 mts length Cement Poles X 28,000 Nos. and Conductor of 900 KMs length are transported immediately to the cyclone affected areas. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Governments have also extended full support to AP Govt. by deploying men and material for rescue operations. (NSS)