News: ‘Inverter-free’ target gets reality check as power cuts trouble Gurugram-26-06-2021
GURUGRAM: The Haryana government has promised to make Gurugram ‘inverter-free' but for residents and industry owners bearing the brunt of long and frequent power outages and voltage fluctuations, this seems like a distant dream.
Earlier this month, state power minister Ranjit Singh announced that the government is planning to develop Gurugram and Panchkula into model cities by making them inverter-free and ensuring uninterrupted power supply. The power department has begun the exercise to mark the electricity poles that are vulnerable and susceptible to damage during bad weather. Additionally, an ambitious infrastructure overhaul is under way in the form of the smart grid project.
But a series of squalls that have hit the city over the past few weeks have ecposed the fragility of power distribution network. Several industries in the Manesar area have complained that industrial production has taken a hit due to over five hours of outages on an average daily. Factories and industrial units in areas like IMT Manesar, Udyog Vihar, Kadipur, among others have complained that for the past few weeks the outages have been frequent, driving up the use of diesel-operated generators.
Residents too complained that they are facing increased outages over the past week, making work from home and online classes a challenge. Areas like Sushant Lok 1, South City and Palam Vihar have been among the worst affected with residents saying that outages on some days have extended to 10 hours. They complained of the unresolved infrastructre issues in several colonies where the discom is yet to take over maintenance.
“If such is the situation, it’s hard to believe the government claims to make the city inverter-free anytime soon,” said Neelu Sharma, founder of a residents’ group that held a meeting with key DHBVN officials on Friday.
The DHBVN claimed that taking over maintenance of some colonies has been delayed due to pending payments from builders. It said the department is in power surplus and able to meet the daily requirement during summers. The discom said it had upgraded over 600 transformers during 2020 winter months and is working towards commissioning underground feeders and power lines. “We are clocking over 23 hours of average power running time and have an abundance of electricity to meet the requirements,” DHBVN chief engineer KC Agarwal told TOI.
“A lot of problems comes due to natural causes like storms and heavy downpour, where we can’t do much. But, we do ensure that our team is working to restore the power supply in such cases at the earliest,” he added. The DHBVN started a feedback-based review exercise to assess the situation and come up with area-specific solutions.
