Published On : Thu, Sep 21st, 2017

Power breakdowns: Consumers sweat & fume but MSEDCL, SNDL choose to turn a blind eye

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MSEDCL, SNDL, Nagpur News, Nagpur
Nagpur: Nagpur city hosts two development agencies (NMC & NIT), four road owners (NMC, NIT, PWD & NHAI), and two power franchisees (Mahavitaran & SNDL). For want of coordination and cooperation the entire system has collapsed in the city. Specifically on the power supply front. Of late the frequency of power outages in the Second Capital City of Nagpur has reached its peak. The power breakdowns and repair and maintenance work being carried out by the two agencies as their only job. The two franchisees believe only in disciplining the bill defaulters, snapping connections and recovering the pending dues. With no concern for convenience of consumers, the Mother Nature is being forced to take responsibility of “protecting” transformers and other tools across the city in her own way.

Despite flood of complaints, the Mahavitarn and SNDL (MSEDCL & Spanco) are found shirking their responsibilities and leaving the consumers on the mercy of god. The authorities wait (eagerly) for a tragedy to “show their efficiency.” The transformers are in the grip of web of weeds, tree branches. The DP boxes and other tools are left open and in dilapidated condition.

Daily power outages have become a routine for hassled consumers. The outage is primarily due to negligent attitude of the two power franchisees. The authorities are busy only in repair and maintenance work instead of keeping the system in top gear. Consumers are faced with two types of outages– planned outages and breakdowns. Inefficiency is the main cause of frequent power outages. There is lot of unplanned shutdowns in the system because of older generating assets, hydro power not catering to peak because of bad operation planning and possibly fuel shortage.

MSEDCL, SNDL, Nagpur News, Nagpur
Ultimately, consumers are left to sweat and fume during the extreme weather. Electrical wires in use today are not 100-percent efficient: A small amount of the electricity they carry gets converted to heat. Overhead wires exposed to sunlight get even hotter. Underground cables, buried to protect them from the elements, bake inside their conduits, which can be hotter than the street above them. All of this heat can cause component failures, and lower the efficiency of the wires that remain in use.

Some of city electrical infrastructure dates back to the decades. If an electrical feeder, cable, transformer, and network protector develops a snag, it exposes the inefficiency of Mahavitaran and SNDL to the hilt. Drop in voltage is another problem. Many consumers are left to rue the damage caused to their costly appliances like refrigerators, air conditioners, TVs and other gadgets

Both the power distribution companies, Mahavitaran and SNDL, have focussed their attention in disciplining the defaulters and recovery of dues. To say that facility for consumers is out of question for the two companies would not be an excess.

MSEDCL, SNDL, Nagpur News, Nagpur
MSEDCL, SNDL, Nagpur News, Nagpur
MSEDCL, SNDL, Nagpur News, Nagpur