Noida: PVVNL plans 48 sub-stations to meet rising power demand

Expecting an increase of over 30% in power demand in Gautam Budh Nagar by 2026, the Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) has decided to improve the supply infrastructure in the district

Expecting an increase of over 30% in power demand in Gautam Budh Nagar by 2026, the Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) has decided to improve the supply infrastructure in the district. PVVNL officials said that the district needs about 50 new power sub-stations to meet the rising demand and a proposal in this regard will soon be sent to the state government.

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The power distribution company has also invited suggestions from people’s representatives, consumers and residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) to improve the distribution system, the officials said.

According to the officials, the power demand in GB Nagar is set to increase from around 1500 megawatt (MW) per day at present to over 2000 MW per day in the next five years.

PVVNL’s Noida divisional chief engineer, Virendra Nath Singh, said that the new infrastructure will cater to the power needs of the district in 2026. “Apart from Noida, the consumption of power is all set to go up in Greater Noida authority and Yamuna Expressway authority areas as several new projects are taking shape there. So, we are making a proposal for 48 new power sub-stations in these areas,” he said.

Singh further said that the discom is also making a proposal for underground cabling of all the supply lines from all 33/11 kva power sub-stations. “At present, all supply lines from the 80 sub-stations are not underground. Besides, we are planning to connect all the power sub-stations with double lines. If anyone wants to give any suggestions for the betterment of present power infrastructure, they can drop their written messages in the boxes at their nearest sub-stations,” he said.

The chief engineer also said that the PVVNL headquarters will send the proposal to the state government by the end of this week. “The state government will forward the proposal to the central government. Once it is cleared by the central power ministry, the overhauling work will begin. The central government will bear 60% of the total cost of overhauling the power infrastructure, while the remaining 40% expenses will be shouldered by the state government,” Singh said.

It may be noted that to avert power cuts during peak hours, the PVVNL headquarters, in March 2021, had released ₹26 crore for upgradation work in GB Nagar, including the replacement of dilapidated poles, old transmission lines and open pillar boxes.

“A Meerut-based agency has been awarded a contract to replace 17,500 poles, 990 air circuit breakers between transformers and low transmission power lines, and 11 kilovolt (kv) vacuum circuit breakers. The agency is also replacing 100km of 11kv wires, 80km of insulated conductor wires and 200 pillar boxes, besides taking up chemical earthing in different areas and societies of GB Nagar,” said a senior official at PVVNL’s managing director office in Meerut, preferring anonymity.

He also said that the work of replacing 300 poles, 10km of 11kv wires and 5km of insulated conductor wires in sectors 29 and 31 is about to complete.