Pune: Post the power outage in Pune, the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL) will now prepare a detailed scheme for the repair and renovation of interconnected transmission lines from extra-high voltage substations at Lonikand, Chakan, and Talegaon.

Director of Operations, MSETCL, Anil Kolap visited Pune, post the power outage in the city on February 9. He said that some insulators will be replaced apart from taking routine soap water wash, chemicals will be used if required. These insulators are used in transmission lines, reported The Indian Express.

On February 9, a technical glitch led to a power outage in Pune city and Pimpri Chinchwad. There was no power supply in the city from 6 am to 11 am. The technical glitch occurred due to decapping insulator or failure in the 400 KV transmission line.

MSETCL officials said steps have been undertaken to ensure such power outage does not occur in the future. Cleaning of insulators and transmission lines and preventive maintenance will also be done.

In October 2020, a similar power outage occurred in Mumbai, due to cascade tripping. Post that incident MSETCL replaced some insulators at Talegaon-Kharghar and Talegaon-Kalwa-Mumbai transmission lines.

Kolap said that a similar project will cost around Rs. 8-9 crore will be planned in the Pune region. There will be repair and maintenance of insulators and the focus will be on preventive maintenance.  

According to the officials, the electrical tripping could have also taken place due to smog. The transmission lines can become moist due to fog and dew, and atmospheric pollutants can further layer the lines with dust in short circuits that could have led to tripping. Chief Engineer, MSETCL Pune Zone, Jayant Weekey said that there could be other factors such as algae formation. The insulator gets contaminated in due course and has to either be removed or be subjected to routine or chemical wash. A detailed scheme will be prepared to identify unattended areas and locations in Pune region.

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