Gurgaon: 12 of the city's 71 substations, including two of 220kV capacity, are overloaded and are the major cause of frequent outages in the city. None of these substations were overloaded last year. However, this time the city has seen a 60% to 80% increase in electricity demand compared to the same period in 2023, and this increase has put pressure on the existing infrastructure, leading to frequent power outages. Is.
To reduce the problem of overloading, Haryana Vidyut Parasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) has decided to install additional transformers. Around 150 transformers have been installed during the last two months to handle the additional load. But these measures are insufficient to meet the growing demand for electricity, resulting in several areas of the city experiencing power cuts of up to four hours per day.
Overload substations Vipal World, Mayfield Garden, Sushant Lok, RD City, Malibu Town, Sector 10A, 22, 23, 45 and 46, Sohna Road, Palam Vihar, Old Gurgaon, and sectors along Dwarka Expressway and Southern like meet areas. Peripheral Road.
Ajay Kora, a resident of Sector 23, said he was facing frequent power cuts and was not getting any response from the discom. “All calls to discom's customer care, linemen, and power officials are going unanswered. Daily life is disrupted due to continuous power outages. People are falling sick due to weather,” Kora said. said.
Abhilash Chetia, a resident of Palam Vihar, said the heat is already unbearable and power cuts are making the situation worse. “We are facing power cuts for several hours every day, yet there is no confirmation that work has started to resolve the issue. This is the situation in the Millennium City,” he said.
Meanwhile, discom officials are finding it difficult to deal with consumer complaints. “Our phones never ring; we are on our toes all the time. We are doing everything we can to ensure power supply, but still face anger from residents,” he said. A DHBVN official said.
The discom said it is closely monitoring load at all substations around the clock and has sufficient power supply. “As a precautionary measure, whenever the load increases beyond a point that could potentially damage the substation, we have to cut the power supply for a few hours to prevent any long-term damage to the infrastructure. It has to be resorted to,” the official added.
While these temporary measures are helping to address the immediate crisis, a more comprehensive and long-term solution is urgently needed to address the root cause of the problem. The official said that after the summer, they will have to go back to the drawing board to come up with a new plan for upgrading the power infrastructure in view of the increased power demand.
The city needs more substations due to growth of new sectors and increase in population of existing areas. According to DHBVN, new substations are required at Pataudi and Sectors 5 and 29. While construction of a substation in Sector 29 is a future requirement, substations in Sector 5 and Patodi will be needed in the next few years, but availability officials said land is an issue in both areas.
To reduce the problem of overloading, Haryana Vidyut Parasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) has decided to install additional transformers. Around 150 transformers have been installed during the last two months to handle the additional load. But these measures are insufficient to meet the growing demand for electricity, resulting in several areas of the city experiencing power cuts of up to four hours per day.
Overload substations Vipal World, Mayfield Garden, Sushant Lok, RD City, Malibu Town, Sector 10A, 22, 23, 45 and 46, Sohna Road, Palam Vihar, Old Gurgaon, and sectors along Dwarka Expressway and Southern like meet areas. Peripheral Road.
Ajay Kora, a resident of Sector 23, said he was facing frequent power cuts and was not getting any response from the discom. “All calls to discom's customer care, linemen, and power officials are going unanswered. Daily life is disrupted due to continuous power outages. People are falling sick due to weather,” Kora said. said.
Abhilash Chetia, a resident of Palam Vihar, said the heat is already unbearable and power cuts are making the situation worse. “We are facing power cuts for several hours every day, yet there is no confirmation that work has started to resolve the issue. This is the situation in the Millennium City,” he said.
Meanwhile, discom officials are finding it difficult to deal with consumer complaints. “Our phones never ring; we are on our toes all the time. We are doing everything we can to ensure power supply, but still face anger from residents,” he said. A DHBVN official said.
The discom said it is closely monitoring load at all substations around the clock and has sufficient power supply. “As a precautionary measure, whenever the load increases beyond a point that could potentially damage the substation, we have to cut the power supply for a few hours to prevent any long-term damage to the infrastructure. It has to be resorted to,” the official added.
While these temporary measures are helping to address the immediate crisis, a more comprehensive and long-term solution is urgently needed to address the root cause of the problem. The official said that after the summer, they will have to go back to the drawing board to come up with a new plan for upgrading the power infrastructure in view of the increased power demand.
The city needs more substations due to growth of new sectors and increase in population of existing areas. According to DHBVN, new substations are required at Pataudi and Sectors 5 and 29. While construction of a substation in Sector 29 is a future requirement, substations in Sector 5 and Patodi will be needed in the next few years, but availability officials said land is an issue in both areas.