Discom races to fix cables, switchgear in Noida by March 31

Noida: As the Noida power department nears the March 31 deadline for repairs and maintenance work ahead of summer, officials are speeding up repairs planned for financial year 2024-25. What has been done so far includes the repair and revamp of 94 transformers on 33/11 kV lines, repairs of 33 kV and 11 kV lines at 71 and 316 points/areas respectively, switchgear protection, and repairs of switchyards, substations, etc. These works are in addition to the various long-term works underway under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) scheme. "The 33/11 kV switchyard maintenance and protection works were completed in Feb this year. This will ensure proper monitoring and protection systems," said Harish Bansal, chief engineer of the Noida power department, PVVNL.Residents, however, complained that despite promises, they end up bearing the brunt of apathy every year. "A slight movement of wind or a strong thunderstorm, shower or excessive heat leads to local faults, transformer burns, cable damage, or uprooting of poles, leading to long and short outages during peak summers. Unless the 40-year-old infrastructure is upgraded, we are not confident of an uninterrupted power supply," said Anil Kumar, a resident of Sector 55.