The Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (GESCOM) has started servicing transformers in all the divisions, under the 20-day transformer maintenance campaign launched by the Department of Energy to ensure they remain in good working condition.
GESCOM Managing Director Rahul Pandve told The Hindu that there were over 1,18,894 distribution transformers (43,461 for non-IP and 75,433 for IP), of which GESCOM had already serviced 12,702 transformers in 16 divisions under its jurisdiction.
Mr. Pandve said that the objective of the campaign was to keep distribution transformers in good condition, reduction in transformer failure thereby reducing expenditure incurred on repairs, and to provide quality and reliable power supply to prospective consumers.
As part of the campaign, the staff will clean bushings, check the condition of breathers, lead wire, oil level, HG fuse unit, high tension and low tension connecting rods, fuses, and also replace if required. The staff will also clean the sub-station yard and the maintenance of the transformers was necessary before the monsoons, he added.
The GESCOM has come up with various measures to reduce loss of power transmission. From 18.96% in 2015, the loss in power transmission has been reduced to 10.87% in the current fiscal year.
GESCOM Superintendent Engineer Siddramappa Patil, elaborating upon the measures taken to reduce the loss of power, said that the system strengthening was done under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) in rural feeders and under the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) in urban feeder.
The GESCOM also bifurcated the agricultural load and the non-agricultural load for providing 24 hours electricity for households and seven hours for Irrigation pumpsets and this has helped to conserve energy. Besides this, the upgrading of conductors, installation of additional transformers, and construction of line link and installation of smart electricity meters have also reduced the loss of power, Mr. Patil added.
GESCOM has set up 36 transformer workshops under its jurisdiction, including eight in Kalaburagi, seven each at Raichur and Ballari, five each at Bidar and Koppal, and four in Yadgir district.
To ensure uninterrupted power supply, of the total 8,221 defunct transformers, the GESCOM had replaced 6,479 to fix the problem within 24 hours of receiving complaints in 2021-22. The remaining 1,742 transformers were also replaced immediately.
Under the Ganga Kalyana Irrigation Scheme , the GESCOM has received 3,325 complaints of repair, of which 993 IP sets were attended within 24 hours and 2,213 IP sets were repaired within a month.
