AP power utilities on high alert as cyclone threat looms

Vijayawada: Wit ha low-pressure system over Bay of Bengal posing a potential cyclone threat to Andhra Pradesh, the State’s power utilities have been placed on high alert to protect electricity infrastructure and ensure speedy restoration of power.

Energy Department Special Chief Secretary K Vijayanand on Sunday directed all utilities to undertake emergency preparedness measures on a war footing. Chairpersons and Managing Directors (CMDs) and Directors have been instructed to camp in vulnerable areas from Monday (October 26) until the threat subsides.

At a review meeting held through video conference from Vijayawada with officials of APGENCO, APTRANSCO, APCPDCL, APEPDCL and APSPDCL, Vijayanand directed the utilities to mobilise technical personnel, restoration teams, vehicles and essential equipment in advance. Leave for Zonal Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers and key technical personnel involved in disaster management has been restricted to ensure their availability during the emergency.

He asked field officials to monitor weather bulletins, wind speeds and feeder conditions, identify vulnerable locations and position personnel and equipment in advance. He also stressed the importance of electrical safety during heavy rainfall and flooding. He directed all utilities to maintain close coordination, follow safety protocols and ensure the earliest possible restoration of electricity following cyclone-related damage.

APTRANSCO Joint Managing Director Suryasai Praveenchand said transmission lines, operational zones and extra-high-tension substations had been placed on high alert. Additional restoration teams, tower spares and heavy-duty dewatering pumps were being arranged, particularly for substations in flood-prone areas.

APEPDCL CMD Prudhvi Tej Immadi said 309 contractor teams comprising 4,056 personnel were ready for deployment.

The utility had established 30 divisional control rooms and a round-the-clock corporate control room. Its stocks included 1,180 km of conductors, more than 70,700 prestressed cement concrete poles and hundreds of distribution transformers. Generators, cranes and other equipment had also been mobilised.

APCPDCL CMD P Pulla Reddy said 60 specialised restoration teams, 1,200 electricity poles and 250 distribution transformers had been positioned at strategic locations. Dewatering motors, backup generators and wireless communication sets were also ready.

APSPDCL CMD Siva Sankar Lotheti said preparedness had been intensified in Nellore, Tirupati and Chittoor districts. The utility had stocked 27,838 poles, 3,652 distribution transformers and 1,967 km of conductors. Its emergency resources included 62 restoration teams, 17 generator sets, 33 wireless communication sets, 47 vehicles, 13 control rooms and 188 power saws.

The meeting was attended by APGENCO Managing Director S Nagalakshmi and other senior officials.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dasari Srinivasa Rao

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Dasari Srinivasa Rao is a Staff Reporter with The Hans India, covering NTR and Krishna districts, with a primary focus on Vijayawada. He has 32 years of experience in journalism. His reporting spans a wide range of beats, including city and rural development, politics, irrigation, education, crime, and human-interest stories.

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