Frequent power outages haunt residents of Tiruchi
Voltage fluctuations and frequent suspension of power supply, particularly at night, in several parts of Tiruchi have raised serious concern among residents.
The city and suburban parts experienced power outages in select areas in April and May. The Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd officials cited technical reasons and damages to the distribution network becaue of heavy rain in May for the fluctuation and disruptions in power supply. With the summer season over, many expected that there would not be frequent unannounced power outages from June.
However, the city and its neighbouring areas continue to experience power outages. A cross-section of residents says power supply disruption has become an everyday affair.
In the past few days, power outages have been frequent in several areas such as Sempattu, Ponmalai, Ponmalaipatti, Kottapattu, Mannarpuram, Subramaniaypuram, and Crawford. There is a blackout for at least 30 minutes to one hour between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. In some areas, the duration of power outages extends beyond one hour. Apart from load shedding at night, power cuts are enforced during the daytime.
'We do not know when the power supply goes off. We have been encountering frequent power cuts in the last few weeks. We find it difficult to sleep at night,' says G. Selvaraj of K.K. Nagar. Consumers complained that voltage fluctuations and erratic supply render air-conditioners and other electric appliances unusable. They claimed that calls to the EB complaint number evoked poor response, more so at night.
While stating that there was no short supply of power, a senior official of the TNPDC told The Hindu that the heavy rain that lashed the city with strong winds on May 4 had caused extensive damage to the power distribution network. Several poles were uprooted in the city. Power transformers, a key power transmission equipment, suffered damages at three locations including K. Sathanur. It took 10 days to solve all issues due to the infrastructure damage.
The official said the regular maintenance work could not be taken up between January and April as power shutdown was avoided during the examination season. The TNPDC had lifted the curb on periodical maintenance by announcing power shutdown in May. It might take a few more weeks to set right the issue caused by the suspension of periodical maintenance. The officials and field workers were working overtime to ensure uninterrupted power supply, the official said.
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