BSES launches campaign to prevent unplanned digging, outages

Unplanned digging of roads by utilities for repair and other works such as laying of cables and pipelines, is a major cause for of outages in many parts of the city, an analysis by power Discoms revealed.

Outages across south, west , east and central Delhi areas are caused due to unplanned digging, with an average of around 800-1000 underground power cables getting damaged annually, said a spokesperson of BSES Discoms BYPL and BRPL.

"Workers engaged by civic agencies, telecom operators and their contractors often inadvertently damage electricity cables while laying pipelines and cables," he said.

"This not only causes outages, sometimes for long duration but also pose serious safety threat for people besides causing substantial monetary losses," the spokesperson said.

These incidents can be prevented if the utilities inform the Discoms before undertaking digging so that necessary steps can be taken to save power cables from damage, the spokesperson said.

The BSES discoms have launched 'Dial n Dig' helplines to enable the civic bodies, telecom companies and other stakeholders to contact them to alert discoms before digging.

As part of the campaign, discoms will also urge the RWA's to inform BSES if they come across any digging in their area, so that it could act on time to prevent damage to power cables and outages, he said.