Smart Grid project to soon make Gurgaon a power cut-free city

Discoms plan to upgrade distribution system to make city power-sufficient for the next 20 years

Two days after Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar unveiled a zero outage plan for Gurgaon under the Smart Grid project, discom officials started assessing the existing power infrastructure in the city on Saturday.

Discom officials said the project aims to take all power infrastructure underground. (HT File Photo)

The proposal for the project was drafted in June and got the Centre’s nod on Thursday. Gurgaon will be the fourth city to have 24-hour power supply under the smart grid project. The other cities are Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

A 12-member team from the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) and Power Grid will assess Gurgaon’s power infrastructure over the next one month. They will later float tenders and the work is likely to begin in four months, a senior discom official said.

“A team of 12 members has been constituted and we started work on the project on Saturday. Our focus is to initiate the work at the earliest so that consumers can enjoy the benefits of an improved power supply,” Sanjeev Chopra, superintending engineer, said.

The officials plan to upgrade the power distribution system to make Gurgaon power-sufficient for the next 20 years. The project is likely to be completed in three years.

It will be implemented in phases — Sectors 1-57 will be covered in the first phase, Sectors 58-115 in the second and Manesar in the third.

The first phase will be divided in four sub-divisions — DLF, Sohna Road and South City, Maruti and IDC, and Qadipur and New Colony.

Officials said the DLF sub-division will be developed on priority as the power infrastructure in the area, which caters to approximately 29,000 consumers, is in dire need of upgradation.

The first phase, which is planned to be completed in one and half years, is estimated to cost the discoms Rs. 1,200 crore.

Officials also said most power cables and equipment will be installed underground. In areas where this is not possible, mono-poles will be installed.

The chief minister has estimated the overall cost of the project at Rs. 7,000 crore, but discom officials said it will escalate to Rs. 10,000 crore. Sources said the Haryana government will invest 25% and Power Finance Corporation will bear the remaining 75% of the cost.

Implementation of this project will bring relief to lakhs of Gurgaon residents who face frequent power cuts every day. Residents of several gated communities in New Gurgaon are forced to shell out huge amounts on back up power supply in the form of diesel generator sets.

The frequent outages have also been affecting water supply in the city.