On Friday, yet again there was a disruption in electricity supply in parts of South Mumbai. Now, the permanent solution to these persistent power failures is an expensive procedure of replacing the old worn out power supply cables spread beneath the surface of Mumbai. Mumbai's power demand is galloping at 3800Mw and more while that of the island city was crossing 900-950Mw.
This exercise of replacing the power distribution cables will come at a cost as BEST officials claim that they haven't made capital expenditure in improving the assets of their Supply Division for a long time. This includes replacing the old underground cables that were laid 70-80 years ago, with new ones at a cost of Rs 3500 crore.
“On Friday, the ruptured cables again saw technical failures which led to disruption in power supply at some places. We are starting the process of replacing these old cables for which we will approach the Centre as well as there is a scheme for funding this project,” said a BEST official.
The old cables are getting ruptured and they are unable to bear the load owing to the rising heat. This is the reason why the problem area is getting exposed again and again for the past few days now. Sources said that as the cables have become old, they are finding it difficult to repair it. “By May we expect the initial process and paperwork for replacing the old cables with new ones; to begin,” said another official from the Undertaking.
The BEST have chalked out a 5-year plan which shall require a massive fillip of Rs 6000 crore investment for upgrading the decade's old power supply network laid down during the British era and is passing underneath the road surface of the Mumbai city. This includes restructuring of a 1000 kms long underground cable network. This work will be carried out across the 800 kms long Cuffe Parade-Colaba-Sion/Mahim stretch across the island city.
They will also be laying new cable lines across 200 kms range within the island city mainly to cater the growth centres. Both these upgrades are part of the overall plan to augment and strengthen the city's power infrastructure for the coming years. The BEST will also set up 200 new substations, automation of the entire chain of power network's working, developing smart grids, upgrading SCADA system and over modernization that is expected to take the cost to Rs 6000 crore. For capital expenditure, there is a provision for funding from the Centre wherein they could get 60 per cent subsidy on the total cost.
