Bandra-Worli sea link to consume 1,000 Kw power a day

The engineering marvel Bandra-Worli sea link, which opens on June 30, is likely to consume 1,000 Kw power a day, enought to meet the electricity requirement to 100 households.        

"We have installed a transmitter which has 1,000 KVA capacity. This has been placed keeping the demand in mind," Bajaj Electrical's Head Engineering Project Lalit Mehta told PTI here.        

KVA is a measure of demand load while KWH is a measure of usage. India's per-capita consumption is 750 KWH or 750 units, while the world average is 1,000 KWH per annum. A 40W tube can consume one KWH power in 250 hours.        

Bajaj Electricals has got Rs 9 crore illumination job of the 5.6 kilometer-long bridge, which is going to be a tourist spot in the island city.        

Power for illuminating the bridge would be supplied by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and Reliance Power.        

The bridge will house diesel generator sets and auto mains failure panels to cater to critical load like, monitoring, survellience and communication equipment emergency services like aviation obstruction lights.

"Special emphasis has been given to incorporate lighting protection at bridge tower and control room building to protect those buildings, the sophisticated monitoring and communication equipment installed therein," a Hindustan Construction Company official said.        

HCC is building the bridge, commissioned by Maharashtra State Roadways Developemnt Corporation (MSRDC) and the Maharashtra Government.         

Mehta said that a total of 225 Glass Reinforced Polyester poles have been installed on the bridge.        

"These poles are no ordinary poles and are saline water resistant," he said, adding that 450 street light feedings have also been installed on the poles.        

Besides, there are three high masts to provide light in the toll plaza, which is of 16 lines. The toll plaza will be equipped with state-of-the-art toll collection system.        

The Bandra-Worli sea link would provide an additional moving outlet from the island city to the Western suburbs and thereby providing much-needed relief to the congested Mahim causeway, which records around 1.25 lakh public vehicles in a day.        

The eight-lane bridge will reduce the travel time between the two points from 60-90 minutes to six to eight minutes. This will save around Rs 100 crore a year in vehicle operating cost alone.