‘Velim’s power woes due to old equipment, lines in forest’

Colva: Chief electrical engineer Stephen Fernandes on Tuesday personally undertook an inspection of the Velim sub-stations that transmit power to the Salcete coastal belt.
Villagers along this belt have been experiencing a harrowing time due to poor quality of power supply.
Since the month of May, the coastal villages of Salcete have been experiencing frequent power outages and fluctuations.
Addressing reporters at the office of Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas, Fernandes stated that he along with his team of engineers carried out the inspection of both the Velim sub-stations that power Carmona and Benaulim sub-stations.
“On evaluation of the power lines to Velim which are old and erected through forested area, a decision has been taken to change the insulators, jumpers, conductors and poles, and even erect additional poles. A proposal has also been made for underground cabling.”
Fernandes also said that South Goa gets power from only one source, Ambewadi in Karnataka, and in the absence of a secondary source, the district faces disruption.
He said that since the transmission line from Karnataka to Goa passes through dense forest, electricity department personnel find it difficult to maintain constant supply as power trips even if a bamboo tree comes in contact with the transmission line, and it takes a minimum of two hours to find the fault and rectify it.