Simhastha: Over Rs 100cr to be spent on increasing power supply to Ujjain

The Madhya Pradesh government has directed the electricity department to ‘double’ the electricity supply in the temple town of Ujjain in preparation for the Simhastha fair in April 2016.

The Madhya Pradesh government has directed the electricity department to ‘double’ the electricity supply in the temple town of Ujjain in preparation for the Simhastha fair in April 2016.

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The state government has sanctioned Rs 101.61 crore for the project to increase the electricity supply from 110 mega volt ampere (MVA) to 220 MVA before the fair starts. Of that, Rs 72.97 crore has already been allocated to the electricity department.

The task at hand for the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board (MPEB) is monumental to put it mildly. The work would include augmenting electricity supply lines by more than 330 kilometres, setting up of one 132/33 kilovolt (kV) substation at Bherugarh in addition to three other 33/11 kV substations, and erecting over 10,000 electric poles.

Additionally, more than 50 generator sets would be acquired as stand-by to supply electricity in case of power breakdown.

“The Simhastha fair alone is expected to consume more than 100 MVA load capacity,” said NC Gupta, superintendent engineer (Ujjain circle) and official in-charge of electricity supply for the fair.

An Extra High Tension (EHT) substation of 485 MVA capacity will also be created for the fair, he said. So far, 2,000 electricity poles have been fixed and the remaining would be set up by the end of this year, while 65-70% of the works for setting up substations, augmenting electric lines have been completed, according to the official.

“To manage the electricity supply in Ujjain during Simhastha, about 2,000 officials and staff of the electricity department will be stationed in Ujjain,” Gupta said.

The state government is said to be investing heavily on eco-friendly lighting equipment to cut costs and lower energy consumption during the mega event.