Replicate Patiala model to reduce losses: engineers

RUPNAGAR
HT Correspondent

ASSOCIATION SAYS AGGREGATE TRANSMISSION AND COMMERCIAL LOSSES REDUCED IN CITY UNDER PILOT PROJECT

The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) Engineers Association has demanded that the Patiala model be replicated in other cities of Punjab to reduce aggregate transmission and commercial losses (AT&C) in the state.
The association has submitted a presentation to the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC), suggesting ways to reduce line losses in order to save energy. The presentation highlighted the reduction of AT&C losses achieved in Patiala city through a pilot project, which was started at the association’s instance.

A similar project has been started in a rural area at Nabha and is progressing satisfactorily, the

association said.
The pilot project has incurred an expenditure of Rs 16 crore, while 233 lakh units of energy have been saved. The expected AT&C losses by the end of the current financial year are likely to be 16% and this will fall to 12% in the next fiscal. The system reliability index has been improved to 99.75%, while the damage rate of distribution transformers has also been reduced, the association stated in its representation.

The association said there were 20 towns in Punjab where AT&C losses were more than 30%. Jagraon tops the list with 45.6%, followed by Ferozepur (45.05%), Malerkotla (44.82%) and Jalalabad (43.33%). The other towns where the losses exceed 35% are Kotkapura, Sangrur, Sirhind and Gidderbaha.
The AT&C losses are expected to be between 17 and 17.5% in 2012-13. As per results achieved on urban power feeders, AT&C losses on rural feeders can be reduced from 50% to 25%. As per the Patiala model, AT&C losses can be reduced by 8 to 10% in other cities of Punjab, the association said.

Other benefits of the Patiala model are fewer requirement of staff and reduction in power outages, the association added.