Despite infra push, Noida records over 500 power cuts in first half of July

Officials from the discom, Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), said that despite improvement over the years -almost a 20% reduction in power cuts from last year- they often have to shut transformers that serve 5,000 households even for a minor fault as the infrastructure still had to be upgraded.

Despite Gautam Budh Nagar being designated as a “no tripping” zone two years ago and the power distribution company (discom) spending ₹150 crore on infrastructure since, there were 512 complaints of power cuts in July alone, according to the discom’s records.

The power cuts can range from a few minutes to many hours, according to residents. (File photo. Representative image)

The power cuts can range from a few minutes to many hours, according to residents.

Officials from the discom, Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), said that despite improvement over the years -almost a 20% reduction in power cuts from last year- they often have to shut transformers that serve 5,000 households even for a minor fault as the infrastructure still had to be upgraded.

Priyanka Singh, who resides in a society in sector 76, said that if it wasn’t power cuts, then it would be voltage fluctuations. “It appears to be the part of our routine now. On Tuesday, we faced three power cuts of short duration - around 30 minutes -- in the morning without any prior information from the discom,” she said

Dinesh Kumar, who lives in a society in sector 61, has similar complaints. “In many high-rises here, there had been power fluctuations since Tuesday night. We have intimated this to the power department many times and asked them to fix the loose cables and replace old rusting poles. But no action has been taken so far,” he said.

Amita Singh of sector 77, said that disruptions range from 10- 15 minutes to hours. “Come summer and the disruptions get worse due to excessive load on the old and dilapidated cables, poorly maintained transformers and overhead cabling,” she said.

Apartment owners’ association has raised this issue. Rajiva Singh, the president of Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations (NOFAA) – an association of 71 high-rises in Noida – wrote to UP energy minister Shrikant Sharma this month. “The district was developed as an industrial town and the government declared it a ‘no power cut zone’. The power department also charges the residents extra amount to provide the so-called uninterrupted supply. But, frequent power failures necessitate the more frequent use of diesel generators, adding more to the existing pollution sufferings of the residents,” he said.

The improvement, they said, happens with increasing the number of transformers, there by distributing the share of load, and improving infrastructure like power cables.

Aravind Mallappa Bangari, the managing director of PVVNL, said that they were in the process of upgrading infrastructure.

“The problem is that even if there is a fault from the consumers’ end, we have no option than to order a short shutdown to rectify it. We have upgraded many transformers, substations, power lines, besides installing around 2,000 new poles. Our teams are out on the field daily checking for faults. We are working on improving infrastructure. I hope that Noida will have no power blues in a month or two,” he said.

He further said that the state government has plans to make the power infrastructure of Noida high-tech. “It’s already at the final stage. Once this plan is executed, Noida will have no power cuts,” he said.