Irregular power supply in some parts of City

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, SEPT. 9. For the third day on Sunday, there was irregular power supply in some parts of the City. This was because till afternoon, engineers of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) were still working to rectify faults on Shimoga-Bangalore lines.

Two of the four 220 kV lines between Shimoga and Bangalore had tripped on Saturday. This had led to unscheduled load shedding between 6.30 p.m. and 10 p.m in the City.

But restricted power supply continued through most of Sunday morning too in some parts of the City. KPTCL sources said this was because they had resorted to load shedding by rotation during the morning peak hours (between 6.30 a.m. and 10 a.m.).

When contacted, the KPTCL Director (Transmission), Mr. S.Shivamallu, said one of the two tripped lines had gone online. This meant an additional 150 MW to the City, the official pointed out.

``Our engineers have found that the fault on the other line may lie between Anchepalya (at the Kunigal tapping point) and Arsikere. That is being traced out now and may take another one to two hours (to be repaired),'' he told The Hindu. The four 220 kV lines could each carry a maximum of 150 MW, he said.

Till 6 p.m. today, there was no word on whether the fault on the fourth 220 kV line had been rectified. But Mr. Shivamallu stressed that the KPTCL would be able to manage with three lines. ``Even if the fourth one continues to cause problems, we can manage by overloading some of them,'' he emphasised.

According to the official, consumption at present, was around 91 mu (million units) -- much greater as compared to the previous year's 70 mu. ``Peak demand is around 5,300 MW while our estimated availability of is 4,500 MW,'' Mr. Shivamallu explained.

Poor rainfall has worsened the State's woes and the KPTCL has already announced that power cuts will be inevitable by October if it did not rain.

Meanwhile, the KPTCL Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. V.P.Baligar, said that more work had to be done to restore the fourth 220 kV line.

``It will take a couple of hours more,'' he said and stressed that there would be no further load shedding in the City as a consequence.

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