Power supply affected in Rupnagar as fire breaks out at substation

Power supply in Rupnagar and its surrounding areas was affected after fire broke out in an 11-kv control panel at the 132-kv power substation here on Friday afternoon.

Power supply in Rupnagar and its surrounding areas was affected after fire broke out in an 11-kv control panel at the 132-kv power substation here on Friday afternoon.

Fire tenders of the Rupnagar municipal council, forest department and Rupnagar thermal plant were pressed into service to douse the flames. It took two hours to bring the fire under control. (HT Photo)

The fire, which caused loss in lakhs of rupees, broke out around 1:45pm, reportedly, due to a short circuit in the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system of Salapur and Behrampur feeders.

Senior officials of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited, including deputy chief engineer VK Gupta and executive engineer Harinderjit Singh, as well as superintendent of police (investigations) Harmit Singh Hundal and other cops reached the spot after getting the information about the fire. Later, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Tejdeep Singh Saini also reached the spot.

Fire tenders of the Rupnagar municipal council, forest department and Rupnagar thermal plant were pressed into service to douse the flames. It took two hours to bring the fire under control.

The 11-kv control panel of the substation, including cables, were damaged in the fire. The control panels of the 132-kv substation and transformers, however, were safe. Following the incident, power supply remain affected in Rupnagar town besides areas falling under Chamkaur Sahib, Purkhali, Chandpur grids and parts of Kharar area.