MSEDCL Power Line Damaged by Indian Railways Excavation in Pimpri Chinchwad, Disrupting Supply to 20,000 Consumers
Chinchwad, 13th June 2024: The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited’s (MSEDCL) underground high-pressure power line at Bijli Nagar in Chinchwad was damaged three times over three days during excavation work conducted by Indian Railways using a JCB. This resulted in interruptions to the power supply at the Pradhikaran switching station, affecting approximately 20,000 electricity consumers and causing significant financial losses to MSEDCL.
Power is supplied to the Pradhikaran switching station from MSEDCL’s Chinchwad 132 KV substation via the Chakan 22 KV power line. This station serves electricity to the Akurdi, Pradhikaran, Nigdi, and Ota Scheme areas through two high-voltage lines.
Currently, Indian Railways is engaged in laying a new railway line parallel to the existing one at Bijli Nagar. Despite prior notification about the presence of MSEDCL’s underground Chakan 22 KV power line in the digging area, the line was cut on three consecutive days: Friday (7th June), Monday (10th June), and Tuesday (11th June) due to insufficient precautions during JCB operations. Consequently, the MSEDCL switching station remained shut for three days, disrupting power supply to 20,000 consumers in the Nigdi area.
MSEDCL engineers swiftly restored power to 18,500 customers within an hour using alternative systems, but approximately 1,500 customers experienced 3 to 4 hours of outage each day due to the lack of adequate backup facilities.
The Chakan 22 KV power lines, buried three to four meters deep, encountered water accumulation in the excavation pits during rainy weather. Despite these challenges, MSEDCL repaired the damaged power lines over three days, installing 20 meters of new lines and making seven joints, including four on Tuesday (11th June), each taking four hours to complete. Special precautions were taken to ensure no disruption to railway operations during repairs.
MSEDCL’s continuous efforts aimed to expedite the restoration of the power supply at the earliest possible time amidst challenging circumstances.
