Depression plays havoc in power supply in coastal areas during the post-cyclone period. It often needs a lot of effort for restoration of power supply which is mainly needed for water supply and health services.
With a view to tide over the problem, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation has chalked out a plan to set up underground transmission lines in Nagapattinam and Velankanni — both cyclone-prone towns in the district at an estimate of Rs. 143 crore.
Stating this at a public hearing convened for ascertaining the consumers’ views for the shift from overhead lines to underground cables here on Thursday, S. Palanisamy, District Collector, said that the plan, if implemented, would benefit the coastal residents in a big way during monsoon and cyclones.
Explaining the technical details of the plan, he said that power supply would be affected from the substation of capacity 110/33/11 kV. It would cover transmission circuits of Nagapattinam, Thonithurai, Velipalayam, Nagore, and Velankanni.
He said the new plan would provide 99-km high tension (HT) and 22-km low tension (LT) lines. It would cover a cumulative length of 1,150 km on the single-phase circuit and 315 km on three-phase transmission.
Mr. Palanisamy said the Tangedco had authorised N-Arc Consultant, a New Delhi-based consultancy firm, to prepare the designs and a detailed technical report for execution.
The Collector advised the members of the public to express their views at his office.
P. Vridhachalam, Superintending Engineer, Tangedco, spoke on the advantages of the proposal on a permanent basis, avoiding recurring expenditure for maintenance and operation of transmission lines particularly during the post-cyclone period.
The plan includes 99-km HT and 22-km LT lines
