Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir’s Power Development Department had restored over 90 per cent of the electricity load within 48 hours of the August 26 torrential rain-triggered calamity that led to massive damage to power infrastructure in the Jammu region, officials said on Tuesday.
The record rainfall that caused massive landslides and cloudbursts on August 26 brought down most feeders. The power load in the region plummeted to just 299 MW, compared to the normal demand of around 1,050 MW.
However, the Power Development Department (PDD) managed to restore over 90 per cent of the electricity load in the Jammu region within 48 hours, officials said on Tuesday.
On August 26, the load had dropped to just 299 MW against a normal demand of 1,050 MW. By 7 pm on August 27, supply was restored to 725 MW (70 per cent of normal load), and by the evening of August 28, it further increased to 960 MW (92 per cent),” a PDD spokesperson said.
He added that the quick restoration was made possible through “round-the-clock work under extremely adverse conditions, isolating faulty elements and sourcing power through alternate arrangements wherever possible”.
“What made the restoration efforts truly exceptional was the strong teamwork and synergy between the department and various state and central agencies such as NHPC, PGCIL, NHAI, and the police,” the spokesperson said.
As a result, the department successfully restored electricity supply across the Jammu region within a record time, despite the widespread destruction, he said.
The torrential rains had caused widespread destruction, transmission towers collapsed, receiving stations were inundated, and nearly 19,000 distribution transformers and hundreds of poles were damaged. Out of 1,349 feeders, only 364 were left functional by the evening of August 26.
“Restoring power to essential installations such as defence establishments, Jal Shakti, AIIMS, GMC Jammu, and other hospitals was our first priority, and most had electricity on the very first day,” the spokesperson said.
