Additional personnel, equipment deployed for tackling power supply problems triggered by rains
Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) is “monsoon-ready” in Kodagu as it has deployed additional men and equipment in the coffee land as a part of special plan for tackling problems triggering from rains.
The rains and the landslides that occurred in 2018, 2019 and 2020 did a lot of damage to the power supply infrastructure as the devastation was widespread and the CESC incurred heavy losses following damage to the poles, transmission lines and transformers.
Learning from the past experiences, the CESC is now geared up to meet the challenges of monsoon in Kodagu which usually witnesses heavy to very heavy rains, causing power disruptions because of the damage caused to its infrastructure.
“Our men and equipment are ready to tackle contingencies and minimise hardships caused to the people by restoring disruptions at a faster pace. The past experiences helped the corporation to make preparations for tackling the hurdles posed by the monsoon,” said CESC Managing Director Jayavibhavaswamy.
He told The Hindu that the recent transformer maintenance drive helped the corporation to rectify transformer issues in Kodagu and these measures have come as a relief now since those works have to be carried out now if not done earlier.
The necessary groundwork has been done with the corporation deploying 15 additional vehicles and 75 additional gang men besides keeping ready surplus electric poles, transformers, cables and all other needs. The preparations done so far ahead of monsoon can help to attend to the challenges and deal with the inconvenience that accompanies whenever there was a damage caused to the power supply infrastructure, he added.
An order deploying 110 linemen is also being issued soon and they will be serving in Kodagu. This will help us in attending to emergencies, if any, from rain. The maintenance works done in the last three months were supportive. Steps to attend to the sagging lines, taking precautionary measures in hazardous lines and maintenance of transmission lines around the waterbodies were done.
With regard to the transmission infrastructure inside forests, the MD said the poles are taller than the trees and the damage to the poles from tree falls would be minimal. Due to tall poles, cables don’t get easily damaged when trees get uprooted during rains. It has also helped in mitigating damage from wildlife. The hitches have been cleared, he added.
