18 feeder lines tripped due to rains in Chennai: Senthilbalaji

CHENNAI: Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji on Saturday said that only 18 feeders tripped in the city due to heavy rain disrupting the power distribution, but the supply was restored immediately through back feeding.

“Out of the 1,834 feeders in the city’s power distribution, 18 feeders tripped due to heavy rain. Immediately we restored the power supply through back feeding. Now works are on to repair those 18 feeder lines, ” he told reporters after visiting the State Load Despatch Centre here on Saturday morning.

He said that despite heavy rain across the State, including Chennai, there was no disruption in power distribution except for Thiruvenkadu in Nagapattinam where a 110 KV substation tripped last night leading to a power outage for two hours. “After overnight works at the substation, the normal power supply was restored there too,” he added.

Taking a dig at the previous AIADMK government, he said that previously, the power supply would be switched off even for normal rain and wind. “Due precautionary measures taken on the direction of the Chief Minister. The power supply would not be stopped even in heavy rain. Only if there is some issue, the power supply should be cut,” he said.

The minister said that the State’s average power demand dropped to 11,200 MW on Friday. “Today morning, the power demand stood at 11,600 MW. Due to rain, the power demand has come down. To cut down on the expenditure, we have reduced the power generation from the thermal power stations and instead fully utilising the solar and hydro generation,” he said.