Underground cabling project going at snail’s pace

Visakhapatnam: Though the State government taken elaborate steps to reduce human and asset loss during cyclone Phethai, it has totally failed to provide uninterrupted power due to slow progress in underground cabling project, which is disaster proof and can ensure uninterrupted power supply even during the natural calamities.   

According to reports, the underground cabling project is largely funded by the World Bank under Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project (APDRP) and the State government will share 30 per cent of the expenditure.

The project which is being taken up in four phases will cost Rs 822.7 crore and cover about 40 percent of the area in the city. As part of it, AP Eastern Power Distribution Company has engaged three agencies for works, L & T, Vijai Electricals Limited and Jakson Limited.

Speaking to The Hans India, APEPDCL Director (Project and Operations) B Seshu Kumar said the underground cabling project should be completed in 18 months. 

The project will bring down the transmission and distribution loss substantially. “As the work under the project already started as per the Daily Project Report and considering the pace of works, we can hope that the initial phase can be completed by 2019.

The underground cabling will put an end to overhanging wires and power supply will be largely uninterrupted, as the network is disaster-proof to a large extent,” he added.