31-05-2025
EPDCL aims to complete underground cabling project by August 2026
Visakhapatnam: The Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (EPDCL) is rapidly progressing with its ambitious underground cabling project, aiming to complete the initiative within the next 15 months.
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The project involves laying underground cables for high-tension (HT) lines, including 33 kV and 11 kV lines, across the entire city. Despite facing delays in the past due to permission issues and government transitions, the second phase of the project is now underway, with work currently ongoing on the outskirts of the city.
EPDCL has already completed around 140 km of the 876 km line within three months, demonstrating significant progress.
Once the project is completed, residents in apartments will receive direct power supply through underground cables, eliminating the need for transformers at individual apartments. Public transformers on streets will, however, continue to be used.
The importance of underground cabling became evident after the devastating super cyclone Hudhud, which prompted the govt to undertake this initiative with the help of World Bank aid.
The first phase of the project, which involved laying around 260 km of underground cables on the beach road area, was successfully completed. The second phase, estimated to cost ₹973.44 crore, will cover the entire city and is expected to minimize damage to power infrastructure during cyclones and natural calamities.
EPDCL CMD Immadi Prudhvi Teja stated that the target is to complete the second phase by March 2026, but the presence of bitumen (BT) roads and cement roads in the city might pose challenges.
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He added that wherever kaccha roads are present, the work will be completed quickly, but digging BT and cement roads will require permissions from concerned authorities, making the process more complex. By August 2026, the city will receive power supply through underground cabling.
The CMD emphasized that the project's primary goal is to achieve disaster resilience, and with the second phase, EPDCL is confident of realizing this objective. The underground cabling of power lines will not only reduce damage during natural calamities but also provide a more reliable power supply to the city's over 18 lakh consumers.
