A fire broke out at the Rajghat power plant here on Sunday morning, resulting in damage to a transformer.
The fire was reported around 11.40. Twenty-five fire tenders swung into action and took than an hour to douse the fire.
According to officials of Indraprastha Power Generation Company Limited (IPGCL), which maintains the power plant, there were no casualties and the power supply was restored within hours.
The Rajghat power station generates about 135 MW of power and caters to Central and North Delhi.
“On Sunday morning at 11.40 a.m. an operator noticed a tripping in a 100 MVA transformer and immediately alerted the staff. Soon a fire was noticed in the transformer and our own fire fighting team was dispatched. The other transformer at the station was isolated and all necessary precautions were taken to contain the fire,” said an IPGCL spokesperson.
He said the power supply to Central and North Delhi was routed through the sub-stations at Kashmere Gate and Indraprastha station.
“We have our own fire fighting teams at all our plants. They were rushed to the spot and a call was also made to the Delhi Fire Service for additional help.”
An inquiry into the incident has been initiated, while IPGCL will carry out an internal probe, a separate inquiry will be conducted by the Central Electricity Authority.
“IPGCL Managing Director R. S. Rathi has already ordered an internal inquiry into the incident,” said the spokesperson.
Delhi Chief Secretary P. K. Tripathi visited the plant to assess the situation and later said that the cause of the fire will be ascertained once the probes are over.
The Delhi Government has already taken a decision to shut down the plant that was commissioned in 1989.
“By now it should have been shutdown, but after the delay in the commissioning of the 750 MW Bawana power plant, the Government decided to delay its closure. It is most likely to be shutdown by the year end when additional power from Bawana is generated,” said a Power Department official.
The Rajghat power station has an installed capacity of 135 MW, and on most days Delhi gets about 100-110 MW supply. “Though it has been one of Delhi's oldest serving plants, the decision to shutdown has been arrived at only because of environmental concerns as the pollution levels have been found much higher in the vicinity of the plant,” the official said.
