Patna: Power cuts add to woes of residents

PATNA: Residents of the city are facing the double whammy of scorching heat and short-duration power cuts (for about 15-20 minutes) this summer season.
People residing in Kumhrar, Azeemabad Colony, Alamganj in Patna City, Boring Road, Naya Tola and Ashiana Nagar have complained of frequent power cuts, especially during the night hours.
“Though there are no prolonged power cuts, short-duration power outage is a problem in our locality,” said RBP Sinha, a resident of Sandalpur near Kumhrar.
General manager of Patna Electricity Supply Undertaking (PESU) Dilip Kumar Singh attributed the power cuts to transient faults or tripping. “There is no load shedding. Whenever there is a tripping or transient power cut, it is restored through alternate sources. We have alternate sources for every sub-station of 33KV, which supply power to the city,” Singh said.
He added, “Our officials work at the fuse call centres till 12 midnight, especially to restore power.”
The prevailing scorching heat conditions has increased the peak power demand in Patna from 560mw last year to 645mw now.
The PESU GM said the average daily power demand of the city with around 5,20,000 power consumers is being met without any hassles. “The overall distribution capacity of grid sub stations supplying power to Patna is around 1200mw, while the power demand during the peak summer season this time has gone up to 645mw,” Singh said.