Some respite at last, power restored in parts of Zirakpur
Sanjay Bumbroo
Mohali, June 17
After nearly 48 hours, Powercom temporarily restored the electricity supply to parts of Zirakpur and the adjoining areas by installing two poles of the emergency restoration system and supplying power to the Pabhat and Ramgarh Bhuda grids.
The power crisis due to damage to three 66 kV power transmission towers by strong winds had left people sweating in the past two days.
The three towers had collapsed around 7 pm on Wednesday, due to which all feeders of Daulat Singh Wala, Pabhat and the Ramgarh Bhuda substation had been shut. These substations supply electricity to over 100 colonies in Zirakpur.
Contractor’s fault or substandard material?
We have marked a probe. There was a cyclone and many trees also got uprooted. We can’t say whether it was the fault of the contractor or happened due to substandard material. —Baldev Singh Sran, PSPCL Chairman
Although Powercom employees and officials had been trying to restore the power supply since Wednesday night, intermittent rain caused muddy conditions in the field, hampering the restoration work.
The administration tried to supply water to residents by using generators to run tubewells to fill water tankers. People used buckets to fill water for their daily use. Some people took advantage of the crisis and charged exorbitant prices for generators and water tankers. Hotels in Zirakpur witnessed 100 per cent bookings as people preferred to book hotels to spend the night without any trouble. Petrol stations in the Zirakpur area also ran short of diesel as people in large number purchased diesel for running generators. Many drivers were sent back by fuel stations saying that they did not have any stock left.
Sandeep Gupta, Chief Engineer (Operations), Power Zone, Patiala, said the power supply of the Pabhat and Ramgarh Bhuda grids was restored after erecting two poles of the emergency restoration system. Three wires of the six were connected with the poles around 6 pm on Friday. He urged people not to use ACs and other high power-consuming instruments in the house to avoid power cuts as the emergency restoration system would meet 70 per cent electricity demand of the city.
PSPCL Chairman Baldev Singh Sran, who had come for a visit to the affected area from Patiala, said one of the two circuits of the 66 kV Banur-Zirakpur line had been restored at 6.51 pm and the power supply to most of the affected areas of Zirakpur had been restored. The second circuit would be restored by tomorrow late evening/night, he said.
Hotels see 100% booking
Hotels in Zirakpur witnessed 100 per cent bookings as people preferred to book hotels to spend the night without any trouble.
Supply disrupted again
In some parts, the power supply was restored by 8 pm, but again got disrupted after three hours.
‘Don’t use ACs to avoid cuts for now’
Sandeep Gupta, Chief Engineer (Operations), Power Zone, Patiala, said the power supply of the Pabhat and Ramgarh Bhuda grids was restored after erecting two poles of the emergency restoration system. He urged people not to use ACs and other high power-consuming instruments to avoid power cuts as the emergency restoration system would meet 70 per cent electricity demand of the city.
