BBMB transmission lines trip after copper earthing stolen from Gurugram gantry

Gurugram: Two sections of 220kV high-tension transmission lines of the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB), measuring around 120km each, tripped and remained dysfunctional for four days

Gurugram: Two sections of 220kV high-tension transmission lines of the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB), measuring around 120km each, tripped and remained dysfunctional for four days.

HT Image

A part of the wires got damaged permanently from overheating after thieves allegedly stole 3l1m-long earthing copper wires from a substation gantry on Dwarka expressway in Sector-36, officials said on Saturday.

According to BBMB officials, the stolen wires are worth ₹68,000, and the estimated total loss is around ₹1.6 crore, of which damaged wires alone cost around ₹1.2 crore.

Officials of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVNL) said several districts like Dadri, Mahendergarh, Faridabad have got 66kV connection from these 220kV lines. However, no major outage took place as supply continued from alternate sources during the crisis

Repairs could not be done right away due to the monsoons and the transmission line will continue to run. The two affected sections of transmission are Ballabgarh-Charkhi Dadri (120km) and Samaypur-Charkhi Dadri (116km). Officials said that these lines terminate in Hisar and draw power from the Bhakra Dam in Himachal Pradesh.

Police said that they have also come to know from BBMB officials that around 440m wire of the underground transmission line at the gantry near Mohammadpur village got damaged as an outcome of the theft.

A senior BBMB official said that they are running the power supply line with the help of spare wire and if any further theft or untoward incidents take place, the entire section of the transmission line will fail. Senior officials said that the fuses at the substation in Mohammadpur were also damaged due to the earthing disconnection from wire theft.

The transmission line tripped at around 2.33am on June 26 and efforts to restart it in the next few hours proved futile. Officials said it took around 16 hours of patrolling to pinpoint the fault.

“On the evening of June 26, officials finally reached the gantry having wired fencing and found that the fault was inside it. The lock at the entrance was broken. After inspection, they found copper earthing wires connected to the conductors at both ends of the gantry cut and stolen,” a senior BBMB official said.

Police said that the thieves earlier stole the wire on the eastern end of the gantry which was 16 metres long.

“Then they stole another 15m piece on the other end on June 26. It was at the time of the second theft that the entire supply line tripped and damaged the wires and fuses,” a senior police official said.

Based on a complaint filed by Satish Kumar, deputy divisional officer (transmission), BBMB, an FIR was registered against unidentified people under sections 380 (theft in dwelling house) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector-37 police station on Friday afternoon, police said.

Kumar declined requests for comment, stating he is not authorized to speak with the media.

Inspector Satish Kumar, station house officer, Sector-37 police station said that a police team has been sent to the spot for investigation.

“Once the team returns, further details can be ascertained ,” he said.

Police said that the other end of the gantry falls under Kherki Daula police station area where a separate FIR will be registered soon after BBMB officials submit a separate complaint.

Senior officials of the state power department said that these two BBMB transmission lines were laid in the mid-1970s. A section of the transmission line was made underground three years ago due to the expressway and metro project, they said.