In a first of its kind initiative, Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Sunday dedicated Punjab's first 66KV Line on Monopoles at Ludhiana GT road which was laid at an outlay of Rs. 16.25 crore.
Divulging the details, the Power Minister said that this project was going to be a game-changer in providing uninterrupted power supply as PSPCL was contemplating more monopole based transmission lines in the state. He said that the project would directly ease out areas falling under Chaura Bazar, Nurewal, Hambra sub stations with 66kv substation GT road now getting power supply from two sources, thereby easing the overburdened substation.
Accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Surahi Malik, and Commissioner of Police Dr. Kaustubh Sharma, the minister stated that localities falling within the jurisdiction of these sub stations would immediately get relief from power cuts as this new double-circuit power line has started catering to the needs of these localities. Terming this project a game-changer, the minister said that as many as 49 monopoles have been installed to cover the 12-KM long distance spanning over the densely populated areas. These monopoles have a base of one meter to two meters in comparison to the conventional towers that cover five-seven meters of area, he said, adding that the monopoles are suitable for erecting transmission lines in congested and thickly populated areas with ROW issues in city areas.
Pointing out further, the minister said that with the commissioning of this new 66 KV line power to the old city area will become more reliable as additional sources of power would also be provided here.
The Power Minister also informed that last month PSPCL and PSTCL had augmented 1X100 MVA 220/66 KV Power Transformer at 220 KV sub-station BBMB Jamalpur to 160 MVA capacity at the cost of Rs. 8.5 crore thereby resolving the problem of load shedding in Millerganj, Transport Nagar and Chandigarh road areas which was persisting from the last 10 years.
Meanwhile, the Minister also inspected ongoing works at 220 KV Ladhowal where PSTCL is installing a second 160MVA, 220/66 KV Power Transformer at the cost of Rs. 9.5 crore which is expected to be completed by July 15, 2022. Reiterating the state government’s commitment to providing uninterrupted power supply to industries, he asserted that these new projects would provide more reliability to supply the Industrial city of Ludhiana. He also inspected Hotline Maintenance techniques on the live energized 220 KV transmission system at the sub-station. The officials apprised the minister that the PSTCL has received an aerial mounted bucket insulated truck which will be put into use after completing training and registration process.
Earlier, a contingent of Ludhiana Commissionerate Police gave the guard of honor to the minister on his arrival at the substation. On the occasion Director (Technical) PSTCL Er Yogesh Tandon, Additional SE Harpreet Singh Sandhu, ADCP Pragya Jain, JE Mohit Kumar, and others were present.