Gales accompanied by thundershowers caused damage to public utilities in Guntur district on Monday night. Though they lasted one hour, several electric poles were uprooted and feeders were damaged plunging several colonies into darkness. Undaunted by the adverse weather, SPDCL personnel worked through the night battled and restored power in several colonies.
Superintending Engineer M. Vijay Kumar said going by estimates, the damage to the utilities was in the region of ₹1.5 crore.
The areas affected are Guntur city, Bapatla, Veldurthy, Dachepalli, Machavaram, Nakerikallu, Krosuru and Rompicharla mandals. Several utilities, including, 35 transmitters of various capacities, 165 LT poles, 350 Mkv poles, 120 33/11 stone poles have been damaged. Appreciating the services of the personnel, Mr. Vijaya Kumar said even on earlier occasions during the lockdown, they rose to the occasion. In the present instance, the personnel battled gales and short bursts of rain to restore supply risking their lives.