Tangedco forms action plan to save elephants from electrocution

CHENNAI: After five elephants were killed in the electrocutions last month, Tangedco has developed a 10-point action plan to save elephants from electrocution with a target to complete all the works in one year.

Tabling the Energy Department Policy Note 2023-24, Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji said that in the last 10 years, as many as 79 elephants were electrocuted in the State, including 48 killed due to illegal electrical fencing by the farmers, and accidents have occurred when the elephants pull tree branches or hit the electric poles.

He said that when elephants move from the forest area to nearby rural/remote villages for various reasons, the death of elephants by hitting electric lines, and poles, and getting struck by the electric fences erected without permission has been occurring.

He added that in recent times, such accidents have increased. "However, in recent times, elephants migrated from forest areas to inhabited areas even beyond 60 km from the forest and have died due to electrocution by illegal fencing," he noted.

Senthilbalaji said that a high-level meeting was conducted at the government level, to save wild animals, especially elephants from electrocution.

The 10-point action plan includes the identification of elephant path areas, regular intensive joint inspections along with forest officials to identify vulnerable locations, the raising of the existing poles at identified locations, re-sagging of low-lying lines, providing spikes or barbed wires around poles to avoid them being pushed by elephants and replacement of damaged poles.

The action plan also wants to establish a distribution transformer management system to automatically trip the LT lines when the conductor snaps and conversion of the overhead conductors into insulated lines.

Special teams comprising of revenue department, forest department and Tangedco to identify illegal electrical fences in forest areas through surprise checks.

To protect the wild animals as well as the livelihood of the farmers, the standard operating procedure for the erection of solar/electrical power fences and the necessary standards for these fences will be finalised in coordination with Chief Electrical Inspector to Government, Forest and Agriculture departments, he said.

Highlights

1,509 km of HT and 1,255 km of LT bare overhead lines and 19.9 km of insulated conductors exist in the forest areas in TN.

After joint inspections with the forest department since 2021, re-sagging the lines at 838 locations, heightening the poles (244 locations), replacement of damaged poles (128 locations) and increasing vertical clearance (295 locations).

Re-routing of 3.5 km line in Sirumaugai village, Uliyur hamlet, Mettupalayam area.