Work begins to construct two more power substations in Puducherry

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Officials said the facilities can accommodate power supply requirements in Lawspet and Thavalakuppam areas.

Electricity consumers in town and suburban areas of Puducherry could soon look forward to improved power supply distribution with the government setting in process the plan for construction of 50 MVA capacity substations at Lawspet and Thavalakuppam.

While the work for ₹78.80-crore new 110/22 KV Gas Insulated Substation at Lawspet would soon start, the tendering process for another 110/22 KV Substation at a cost of ₹92.26 crore was under process. The projects are executed by the Power Grid Corporation of India for the Puducherry Electricity Department, a senior official told The Hindu .

Currently, the power requirement in Lawspet area was met through the Kurumampet Substation while the Thavalakuppam area residents depend on the Kirumampakkam Substation. The existing stations that supply power for both the regions were around 8km away, the official said.

“The new substations will improve the sub-transmission and distribution network in the town and suburban areas. It will significantly improve the voltage profile and help in cutting down transmission loss. Besides improving the quality of power supplied to the region, the new facilities could accommodate new power supply requirements in Lawspet and Thavalakuppam areas,” said another official.

In addition to the construction of two new substations, the department has taken up power supply augmentation work under the Centre’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme at a cost of around ₹106.53 crore. Under the programme, work has been taken up to improve overall service quality by relying on advanced technologies, including aerial bundled cables, capacitor banks, and energy-efficient distribution transformers, the official added.

The installation of advanced smart meters at a cost of ₹383 crore under RDSS scheme was also fast progressing. As of July, around 1,07,313 smart meters for domestic consumers, 17,476 commercial meters, 8,562 government consumer meters and 351 industrial meters have been installed under the scheme. The entire work for installing smart meters was expected to be completed by next year, the official said.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.