With an aim to take all its lines either underground (UG) or overhead (OH) in three years, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) is certain of there being little disruption from other civic agencies.
Bescom Managing Director C. Shikha said a high-level committee chaired by the Chief Secretary has been ensuring that works are coordinated. “As per directions of the Chief Secretary, there are coordination groups working at the sub-division level too. Work has been smooth lately,” she said. Bescom’s UG plans received a push in the last State budget. The power utility has also announced that it will start laying optical fibre cables (OFC) alongside new cables that are going underground to establish its own communication system.
At present, 4,543 km of 11kv lines are UG, 5,839 km are OH, and 627 km are aerially bunched (AB). As for LT lines, 1,292 km are UG, 16,582 km are OH, and 1,647 km are AB. All overhead HT lines will be converted to UG, and all LT lines into either UG or AB in three years, Ms. Shikha said.
Existing UG lines in the Central Business District have been functioning ‘successfully’, officials added.
Though the UG project is reportedly three times more expensive than aerial bunching of cables, Bescom says UG will help improve reliability in power supply, reduce the number of accidents caused by overhead wires, and improve the aesthetics of the city.
Damages to the lines, officials added, if any, would be caused through external factors. “We will have GIS mapping for the project and will have point-to-point location in case of a fault. We will have more than one source of power, which means we can isolate a faulty source and supply from the other source,” explained a Bescom official.