New substation gets going, south Delhi’s power woes to end

NEW DELHI: The power supply problems faced by south Delhi residents have been addressed as the much-delayed Tughlakabad substation is ready and operational.

The 400/220KV substation with 2,000MVA capacity was commissioned after the old and polluting Badarpur Thermal Power Station (BTPS) was permanently shut on October 15.

“For the first time, areas in South Delhi have got a robust electricity infrastructure. With this substation, transmission lines now will not only be able to cater to the current power demand in south Delhi, but also the projected growth in the coming years,” a senior government official said.

According to data collated by distribution companies, the peak day demand of south and west Delhi this summer was 3,081MW of which over 55% was drawn by south Delhi alone.

Officials of the Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) said the substation would ease three major transmission lines that otherwise always used to get overloaded during peak demand. These lines, which are over 20 years old, include BTPS-OKHLA, Btps-mehrauli and Bamnauli Dial-mehrauli.

It was in January 2015 that Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation of the substation. The project was first to be completed in 2016-17, but was delayed due to land issues and problems in obtaining environment clearances.

“It has been possible to shut the polluting BTPS only because this substation is ready. Otherwise, there were no alternative transmission line to feed power to south Delhi areas such as Okhla, Kalkaji, South Extension, Mehrauli, Maidangarhi, Masjid Mod and Badarpur,” an official said.

Last year, during peak summer, areas such as Okhla, Mehrauli and parts of Saket had gone dark because the BTPS-OKHLA line had tripped due to overloading. It took power utilities nearly six hours to restore supply.

Officials of the state-run power utility, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, which built the Tughlakabad substation, said it has been running successfully.

“The substation, however, is yet to be inaugurated formally. Compared to BTPS, which was a small source of 380MW, this substation can transmit a load of up to 2,000MVA,” an official said.

To facilitate handling of increased supply, the substation will be equipped with an associated 400KV transmission network under the Inter State Transmission System. “This will help import power from sources outside the city,” the official said.