HINDU
TNEB to map 14 towns and cities in Erode region to reduce T&D loss

Karthik Madhavan

Board to implement programme at Rs. 35.05 crore in two phases

ERODE: Tamil Nadu Electricity Board’s (TNEB) Erode region has embarked on a project to cut down transmission and distribution (T&D) loss.

The Board will implement the Restructured-Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) in 14 towns at Rs. 35.05 crore in two phases.

Assistance

Sources say in the first phase, implemented with cent per cent assistance from the Union Government through the Power Finance Corporation, the Board will map and fix meters to collect power inflow and consumption details in Attur and Salem in Salem distribution circle, Edappady and Mettur in Mettur distribution circle, Mallasamudram, Namakkal, Rasipuram and Tiruchengode in Namakkal distribution circle, Erode, Periya Semur and Vellakoil in Erode distribution circle, and Bhavani, Gobichettipalayam and Sathyamangalam in Gobichettipalayam distribution circle.

The meters, embedded with modem, will automatically transmit power inflow into the aforementioned towns or cities to the regional office in Erode. From the inflow figure, the Board will subtract the power consumed in the respective regions to arrive at the T&D loss.

The sources say the Board will fix 119 meters at HT feeders, 101 meters at sub- stations and 3,300 meters at distribution transformers to study where and how the loss occurs.

Guidelines

As per the R-APDRP guidelines the Board is expected to complete the project in three years after which phase two will begin.

The second phase is all about reducing the loss.

The sources say if the loss is around 30 per cent, the Board will work to reduce the loss by three per cent a year over a period of five years.

If it is between 15 and 30 per cent, it will reduce the loss by 1.5 per cent over the same period to bring down the loss around 15 per cent.

They say that the Power Finance Corporation will bear 50 per cent of the cost of reducing the T&D loss and the Board the rest.

The reduction operation will include renovation, modernisation and strengthening of sub-stations, transformers and lines.

The Erode region has got a little over six lakh consumers, high and low tension, with a consumption of about 24 million units a day.