Lingering crisis exposes power managers

BHUBANESWAR: The abysmally-low voltage and frequent power cuts in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack have put a question mark on the efficiency of electricity managers and efficacy of the distribution systems they are presiding over.While the nature has become harsh by raining fire, the managers of electricity have become harsher by failing to provide relief to the people who have been suffering untold miseries due to low voltage and frequent load shedding.The low voltage, experienced in the Twin Cities for nearly a week, has not only affected the normal life but also caused extensive damage to electronic gadgets.What is worse is that the residents are experiencing power crisis when the supply is sufficient to meet the demand. Sources in the Cesu told this paper that the Twin Cities have been spared of power regulation because the supply is sufficient to meet the demand. However, the low voltage, experienced in major part of the Capital, is caused by a technical snag at Chandaka sub-station.Attributing the current crisis to technical fault in a 40-MVA transformer at the Chandaka grid, sources in the OPTCL said parts of the City, including Sailashree Vihar, Jayadev Vihar, parts of Nayapalli, Rental Colony, Khandagiri, Unit-VIII and Bapuji Nagar, are affected.  The problem of the Chandaka grid has a cascading effect as the other feeding sub-stations have been overloaded. The extra load of the defunct transformer of Chandaka grid sub-station has been shared by the grid sub-stations located at Sijua, Kesura near Badagada and Mancheswar.  Excess load on these sub-stations has led the managers of the grid to maintain power supply by compromising the voltage for uninterrupted supply to all the areas, the sources said. The low-voltage situation will continue for over a week till the defunct transformer at Chandaka grid sub-station is replaced by a new one, the OPTCL sources said.A spare transformer of the same capacity from Bidanasi grid sub-station in Cuttack has been shifted to Chandaka on Saturday and OPTCL is working on a war-footing for its installation. However, the blistering heat is coming in the way of the replacement, the sources maintained.