Loop arrangement helps reduce duration of load shedding

The loop arrangement carried out by the authorities in transfer of power from Nellore to Sriperumbudur has come in handy for the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to effect less duration of load shedding for consumers in Chennai and suburbs.

Previously TANGEDCO had announced three-hour load shedding for 10 days, in addition to the one-hour load shedding already in place, from June 21 to 30, for executing line connectivity work to the 1,500-megawatt Vallur Thermal Power station.

But, this move was withdrawn and an alternative plan was worked out. Under the new plan two-hour load shedding was announced.

A senior official of TANGEDCO said that in view of the inter-connection work being carried out at Alamathy for facilitating transmission of power from the Vallur Thermal Power Station to parts of the State, the Power Grid Corporation of India was laying 400-KV line to link with another 400-KV line – Nellore -Sriperumpudur – at Alamathy, about 30 km northwest of Chennai.

As part of inter-connection work, which would take 10 days, it was feared that electricity from Nellore could not be evacuated to Sriperumbdur substation. But an alternative arrangement of providing a loop connection to the Nellore – Sriperumbudur line was worked out, for which work was completed on Monday.

This measure would help provide electricity to the city, which would have been lost, due to the inter-connection work.

Though the additional one-hour load shedding came in to force on Monday in the city and suburbs on rotational basis, it was a mixed day where TANGEDCO did not strictly implement the load shedding in several areas in the city and suburbs.

In Avadi where power was to be cut for an hour from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., it was cut only for 10 minutes and in Purasawalkam, where load shedding was to be implemented from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., there was no load shedding.

A senior official of TANGEDCO said that they resorted to load shedding only when the demand went up. S. Kumararaja, a resident of Annai Indira Nagar, Velachery, complained that electricity which went off at noon was restored only around 1.30 p.m., though the scheduled timing was from noon to 1 p.m.