27-05-2025
UP Min directs uninterruptedpower supply in Varanasi
Varanasi: At a meeting with officials of electricity department on Tuesday, UP energy minister Arvind Kumar Sharma reviewed disruptions in power supply during last summer and assessed preparations and actions for the current season.
He instructed officials to install multiple sources to ensure uninterrupted power supply at important locations and to improve maintenance work.
Officials provided information about ongoing projects in various schemes in Varanasi, stating that the current total connected load in the city was 2152 MW, expected to reach 2976 MW by 2030. Accordingly, a power-related action plan is being prepared for Varanasi. In business plan for 2023-24, 1,329 works related to the capacity enhancement of substations, new distribution transformers and capacity enhancement of transformers in Varanasi district have been approved, out of which 1,326 (99.77%) work was completed.
Under the Business Plan for 2024-25, a total of Rs 155.82 crore is allocated for 1219 works to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to consumers, with approximately 75 percent of 829 works completed, and the remaining 384 works are in progress. In the Business Plan for 2025-26, projects worth Rs 2808.72 lakh are being carried out for replacing and installing protection, dilapidated wires, cables, VCBs, LAs, earthing, CRPs, tail-less units, LT ACBs, RMUs, etc.
Additionally, remaining overhead lines at various locations in Varanasi are to be converted underground. Under the RDS scheme, works worth Rs 448.5 crore were completed, including replacing open wires with AB cables, capacity enhancement of 11 KV and 33 KV lines, etc.
Central govt approved approximately Rs 1,400 crore for modernisation work, which includes construction of 16 new power substations in Varanasi and work related to smart distribution such as SCADA, RMU, and sectionaliser. On completion of the work, power infrastructure of the city will become highly robust.
The minister was informed that line shifting in ropeway project, construction of new substations and work related to airport expansion and that installation of smart meters under AMISP scheme was being carried out as per timeline.
