Udupi: Saline Vapours from UPCL Hit Mescom Power Supply
Pics: Inchara Digitals
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (RD/SB)
Udupi, May 6: The evaporation of saline water used for cooling the towers of coal-based UPCL power plant at Nandikoor near here has affected electricity supply in the region, posing a major challenge to public utility provider Mescom.
The saline water, after evaporating into the atmosphere precipitates on the high tension electricity cables. The mist falling overnight on the saline coatings piles up on the transmission lines causing short circuits, thereby disrupting the power supply.
The service personnel including station officer of Nandikoor sub-station are going through severe harassment attending to several complaints of consumers especially during early mornings.
The supply lines gets tripped most of the time owing to the mist falling on the saline coatings that gets piled up on live electricity cables. It has been frequent on 220 KV Nandikoor – Padubidri lines and corrosion has even damaged newly-installed transformer at Kolachur near here, which has affected the function of brake insulators, said Ramanna Poojary, a lineman regularly attending to consumers’ complaints.
The station officer had already informed his higher officers at Mescom about the frequent problems on zapped power lines in the neighbourhood. Mescom has sent a team of experts from Bangalore to solve the frequent disruption of power supply. The team advised to replace porcelain break insulators with poly fibre insulators.
Raitha Sangha district president Vijay Kumar Hegde said, "Not only electric wires and roofing sheets, automobiles, tractors, dish antennas including plantations, crop and plants in gardens are affected due to rise in the levels of salinity in the atmosphere."
The roofing sheets that can last 15 to 20 years are corroded within six months of installing in a hollow blocks manufacturing unit located at Kolachur, near here, which proves the severity of saline-induced atmosphere in the neighbourhood of UPCL power plant in Nandikoor.