Faulty transformers leave Barisal �powerless�

Long disruptions in power supply due to faulty transformers have led to frayed tempers among Barisal consumers, prompting them to stage an agitation at Alekandar in the city. Faced with the ire of consumers, employees of the West Zone Power Development Company (WZPDCO), which supplies power to Barisal city, have pleaded helplessness.
They said over 60 per cent of transformers in the city needed to be replaced immediately. But lack of supply of new transformers has deteriorated the situation, they added.
Sources said nine transformers had blasted and 36 developed faults in the past one week in the city. The WZPDCO failed to resume power supply even after repeated efforts because the repaired transformers failed to tackle the load.
They said the faulty transformers could not be replaced because there is not an extra one in the WZPDCO’s Barisal store.  The authorities have sent several requisitions to their Khulna regional store, but not a single transformer has arrived in the last two weeks, they added.
The situation is so bad that the authorities have stopped receiving applications for new power connections in the city. At the same time, over 2,000 applications for new connection have been pending for the past two years.  “We’ve already stopped receiving applications for new connections,” said Md Amzad Hossain, executive engineer of the WZPDCO Barisal Division-2. “We need 200 new transformers here, but there is no supply,” he added.
WZPDCO officials said there are 425 transformers over a stretch of 58-sq-km area in Barisal. These were set up in 1978, 1989 and 2003. Most of these transformers have lost their capacity and almost all of them have undergone repairs several times.
The problem has compounded following the arrival of rains with water entering the transformers and damaging them.
Moreover, the cable capacities of these transformers are very short, resulting in faulty functioning.
ATM Tarikul Islam, executive engineer of the WZPDCO Barisal Division-2, said, “We can’t tackle the problem till there is sufficient supply of quality transformers, spare parts and implementation of planned load control.”  
“The Khulna regional office of WZPDCO supplies us the transformers. We’ve sent them our requirements several times, but we don’t know why they haven’t sent us new ones till now,” he added.
One of the worst affected is the Natun Bazar feeder area, which faced a 22-hour-long power cut last week after blasts in five transformers. Pankaj Gupta, a local consumer, said that transformers in his area were replaced three times within 40 hours last week. However, the power situation has not improved.
Natun Bazar power substation in-charge Md Selim Chowdury said there are 42 transformers in his area. But 34 of them have lost their strength. At the same time, over-loading and rains are severely affecting their functioning, leading to power disruptions.
Consumers said, in addition to faulty transformers, low voltage and scatter fault are also making life miserable. They demanded immediate solution to these problems.
WZPDCO sources said over 17,000 consumers have increased in Barisal after the government withdrew the ban on new connections in 2012. At the same time, demand has also increased by over 15 megawatt.
There are a total of 245,941 electricity consumers under Barisal WZPDCO.
These were divided into four sectors—25,817 consumers in PDB Barisal distribution unit; 128,317 consumers in PDB Barisal distribution unit; 285,711 in Barisal Palli Bidyut Samity (Rural Electrification Board)-1; and 106,096 in Barisal Palli Bidyut Samity (Rural Electrification Board)-2.
In the last 10 months, 3,057 new connections were sanctioned by BPDB unit-1, 2,546 by BPDB unit-2, 4,133 by REB unit-1 and 7,036 by
REB unit-2. Moreover, 142 applications for new connections have remained pending with BPDB unit-2, 3,178 with REB unit-1, and 2,925 with REB unit-2.
Sources said that the increase has seen a corresponding increase in demand for power from 90 megawatts to 105 megawatts this year.
Tatan Kumar Roy, switch board attendant of Barisal Rupatoly grid station, said, “We’re facing the anger of consumers due to the poor condition of the transformers. They think its load shedding, but the supply of power is same as the demand till now.”

 

Faulty transformers leave Barisal �powerless�

Long disruptions in power supply due to faulty transformers have led to frayed tempers among Barisal consumers, prompting them to stage an agitation at Alekandar in the city. Faced with the ire of consumers, employees of the West Zone Power Development Company (WZPDCO), which supplies power to Barisal city, have pleaded helplessness. They said over 60 per cent of transformers in the city needed to be replaced immediately. But lack of supply of new transformers has deteriorated the situation, they added. Sources said nine transformers had blasted and 36 developed faults in the past one week in the city. The WZPDCO failed to resume power supply even after repeated efforts because the repaired transformers failed to tackle the load. They said the faulty transformers could not be replaced because there is not an extra one in the WZPDCOs Barisal store. The authorities have sent several requisitions to their Khulna regional store, but not a single transformer has arrived in the last two weeks, they added. The situation is so bad that the authorities have stopped receiving applications for new power connections in the city. At the same time, over 2,000 applications for new connection have been pending for the past two years. Weve already stopped receiving applications for new connections, said Md Amzad Hossain, executive engineer of the WZPDCO Barisal Division-2. We need 200 new transformers here, but there is no supply, he added. WZPDCO officials said there are 425 transformers over a stretch of 58-sq-km area in Barisal. These were set up in 1978, 1989 and 2003. Most of these transformers have lost their capacity and almost all of them have undergone repairs several times. The problem has compounded following the arrival of rains with water entering the transformers and damaging them. Moreover, the cable capacities of these transformers are very short, resulting in faulty functioning. ATM Tarikul Islam, executive engineer of the WZPDCO Barisal Division-2, said, We cant tackle the problem till there is sufficient supply of quality transformers, spare parts and implementation of planned load control. The Khulna regional office of WZPDCO supplies us the transformers. Weve sent them our requirements several times, but we dont know why they havent sent us new ones till now, he added. One of the worst affected is the Natun Bazar feeder area, which faced a 22-hour-long power cut last week after blasts in five transformers. Pankaj Gupta, a local consumer, said that transformers in his area were replaced three times within 40 hours last week. However, the power situation has not improved. Natun Bazar power substation in-charge Md Selim Chowdury said there are 42 transformers in his area. But 34 of them have lost their strength. At the same time, over-loading and rains are severely affecting their functioning, leading to power disruptions. Consumers said, in addition to faulty transformers, low voltage and scatter fault are also making life miserable. They demanded immediate solution to these problems. WZPDCO sources said over 17,000 consumers have increased in Barisal after the government withdrew the ban on new connections in 2012. At the same time, demand has also increased by over 15 megawatt. There are a total of 245,941 electricity consumers under Barisal WZPDCO. These were divided into four sectors25,817 consumers in PDB Barisal distribution unit; 128,317 consumers in PDB Barisal distribution unit; 285,711 in Barisal Palli Bidyut Samity (Rural Electrification Board)-1; and 106,096 in Barisal Palli Bidyut Samity (Rural Electrification Board)-2. In the last 10 months, 3,057 new connections were sanctioned by BPDB unit-1, 2,546 by BPDB unit-2, 4,133 by REB unit-1 and 7,036 by REB unit-2. Moreover, 142 applications for new connections have remained pending with BPDB unit-2, 3,178 with REB unit-1, and 2,925 with REB unit-2. Sources said that the increase has seen a corresponding increase in demand for power from 90 megawatts to 105 megawatts this year. Tatan Kumar Roy, switch board attendant of Barisal Rupatoly grid station, said, Were facing the anger of consumers due to the poor condition of the transformers. They think its load shedding, but the supply of power is same as the demand till now.