Burying power

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If things pan out, an ambitious project to do away with overhead power lines and bury them underground across large swathes of three cities will be completed by the end of the year.The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had undertaken the underground (UG) cable-laying work in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode cities as part of bringing down transmission losses, disruptions and ensuring safety.

While almost 90 per cent of the cable laying work is over in these cities, the actual commissioning of the lines is likely to take some more time. Under Part-B of the centrally-funded Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme, the plan was to lay cables for a total distance of 1,361 km in the three cities. “The work in Thiruvananthapuram is almost complete. Ninety per cent of the work is over in Ernakulam, but commissioning of the UG lines is stuck at 60 per cent,” KSEB deputy chief engineer Anil Kumar said. 

Of the nearly 300 km in Ernakulam, lines have been commissioned in 205 km. “The remaining cable-laying work mostly pertains to small stretches of connection links,’’ said Suresh, deputy chief engineer for Ernakulam. In Kozhikode, the KSEB said 97 per cent of the cable-laying work in a total of 220 km is over, with 70 per cent of it having been commissioned. ‘’We expect to wind up the project by October-November,’’ said Swaminathan K B, deputy chief engineer, Kozhikode. While UG cables are ideal for reducing mishaps and transmission loss, the cost of laying 11 KV UC is a lot higher compared to the drawing of overhead lines.

Also, the then Electricity Minister Kadakampally Surendran had informed in a written reply in the Assembly in September last year that there existed problems in getting permission from agencies like PWD, Railways and NH for laying the cables. The new central scheme for urban areas, the Integrated Power Development Scheme, also has a component for laying UG cables, said a KSEB officer.