Heavy fog leaves Capital powerless

Several 220KV transmission lines tripped on Thursday due to fog, leading to long power cuts across the Capital. Many areas across south, east and north Delhi experienced power outages for as long as five hours.

Several 220KV transmission lines tripped on Thursday due to fog, leading to long power cuts across the Capital. Many areas across south, east and north Delhi experienced power outages for as long as five hours.

HT Image

"The restoration of power supply was done in a phased manner which was completed by 12 noon. The total load affected due to tripping was to the tune of 600MW," said a senior power department official.

According to sources, around 20 transmission lines tripped. “Fog, smog and dust particles deposited on the porcelain insulators and due to moisture, there was a short circuit. Even when we tried to restore the supply, the lines kept tripping due to fog,” said a senior official.

“Till 9am, there was no electricity supply and we were unable to use our electrical appliances. Why don’t they clean the insulators on time?" demanded Archana Kumar, a resident of Malviya Nagar.

The IGI Airport too faced power disruptions due to fluctuation of power supply. There was no power supply to the airport from 5.15am to 11.36am. However, its backup system ensured that operations were not affected. “The DG sets at Terminal 3 took the load immediately and ensured uninterrupted power supply,” said a spokesman of the private airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd.

The problem occurred as Delhi Transco has still not replaced its porcelain insulators of 220 KV lines with silicon polymer insulators. “We have replaced all the porcelain insulators with silicon polymer insulator on all our 400 KV lines. But work on the 220 KV lines is yet to start,” added the official.

But officials maintained they had washed the 220KV network during November and December and that the second phase of washing is still on. “The peak load in the past 24 hours was 3,265MW. About 1,100MW power was drawn from generating stations within Delhi while 2,165MW was drawn from central stations,” said an official.