Visakhapatnam: Steps afoot to ensure hassle-free power supply

Visakhapatnam: With residents gearing up to illuminate their houses with diyas responding to the call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 5 at 9 pm marking their collective resolve to fight against coronavirus pandemic, The electricity department officials in Visakhapatnam district prepare themselves for a hassle-free power supply sans any fluctuation.

Keeping the sharp crashing of load in view, the Andhra Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Limited (AP TRANSCO) officials are pulling out all stops to ensure the presence of sufficient staff at sub-stations on Sunday to chip into any sort of emergency, if required.

Experts warn against the impact of scores of people switching off the lights and subsequently turning them on all at once as it will have a serious impact on maintaining the stability in the frequency, they suggest to keep fans, refrigerators and air-conditioner switches on when they turn off the lights to participate in the PM's nationwide call.

With industries and commercial establishments downing their shutters in the wake of nationwide lockdown, department officials mention that power consumption has already seen a dip.

In addition, GVMC, Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Hindustan Shipyard, VSEZ, MedTech Park and Simhachalam Devasthanam being equipped with solar units, power consumption per se has come down drastically compared to last summer.

According to APEPDCL officials, there are 1.3 lakh commercial power connections in Visakhapatnam, whereas, domestic connections constitute 12.36 lakh. Five districts fall under the ambit of APEPDCL jurisdiction, comprising 60 lakh commercial as well as domestic connections through 800 feeders.

Department officials assure that special focus will also be laid on the sub-stations when the fluctuation in energy supply is expected to happen on Sunday night.