Ensure uninterrupted power supply during festive season: Energy secretary

Patna: Energy secretary Manoj Kumar Singh on Thursday directed officials to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply throughout the festive season. He emphasised that no power feeder should experience more than four interruptions, and faulty transformers must be replaced within 12 hours in urban areas and within 24 hours in rural regions.

Transformer repair workshops (TRWs) would remain operational even on holidays, he added.Singh, who also serves as chairman and managing director of BSPHCL, reviewed operations and maintenance at the Vidyut Bhawan auditorium. The meeting was attended by SBPDCL managing director, Mahendra Kumar, NBPDCL managing director Rahul Kumar, senior officials from distribution companies, and field engineers joined via videoconferencing.He warned that any feeder experiencing more than four interruptions would be deemed unacceptable, and disciplinary action would be taken against responsible personnel. Singh stressed the importance of timely preventive maintenance to minimize breakdowns.To ensure readiness, engineers were instructed to regularly inspect stores and maintain adequate stock of essential materials. Specific guidelines were issued for line repairs: LT line repairs must be supervised by junior engineers, 11 KV line repairs by assistant engineers, and 33 KV line repairs by executive engineers. In addition, no shutdowns are to be carried out without prior approval from the junior engineer.Singh also said that all pending applications for agricultural power connections received by Feb 28 must be processed and executed within the next 10 days, without exception.