Shift to proactive approach to tackle summer power outages: CEA to states

The Central Electricity Authority has urged states and discoms to strengthen planning, preventive maintenance and demand forecasting to minimise summer power outages and load shedding

Recognising the continued consumer-level power outages and load shedding during the summer months, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has said that all distribution utilities (discoms) need to transition from a “predominantly reactive approach of addressing outages after they occur” to a proactive approach based on scientific planning, predictive analysis, preventive maintenance and advance preparedness for seasonal demand growth.

 

“Despite the overall adequacy of generation resources and availability of power in the grid, several states continue to experience consumer outages and load shedding during the summer months,” the CEA said. Attributing much of these interruptions to constraints within the distribution network, it noted that the reasons include overloading of distribution transformers and feeders, inadequate transformation capacity at substations, delayed system augmentation, failure of ageing equipment, local network bottlenecks and insufficient preventive maintenance.

   

Increasing air-conditioning loads, rapid urbanisation, expansion of commercial establishments, growth in agricultural demand and electric vehicle charging infrastructure are accelerating the growth of peak demand at the distribution level. In many cases, actual growth in local demand exceeds the pace of network strengthening, resulting in transformer failures, feeder tripping, voltage-related issues and consequent load shedding, the CEA highlighted.

 

The planning body has, therefore, prepared a set of advisory measures for discoms to minimise load shedding and improve the reliability of power supply during peak demand periods.

 

It has requested a state-level review of summer preparedness, with both immediate (within one year) and medium-term (one to three years) actions. Every discom should prepare short-term forecasts based on historical feeder demand and future expected load, weather conditions, consumer additions and air-conditioning penetration, and medium-term forecasts based on urban development plans, industrial corridors, smart city projects and electric vehicle adoption trends.

 

It also recommended an annual consumer load survey, geographic information system (GIS) tagging of major consumers, assessment of actual peak demand contribution, identification of high-growth areas and planning of an adequate distribution system.

 

As smart meters are being installed at the feeder, distribution transformer (DT) and consumer levels, the data from smart meters should be leveraged for accurate forecasting and assessment of the loading of each element of the distribution system, the CEA said.

 

The CEA also said that no critical maintenance activity should be deferred during the summer season except under exceptional circumstances.

 

Dedicated Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) should be constituted to restore power supply as quickly as possible within the applicable norms and regulations. Positioned at strategic locations, these teams should be equipped with adequately trained manpower, vehicles, tools, testing and safety equipment, along with an adequate inventory of critical spares.

 

Discoms should establish outage management systems (OMS) to enable faster fault localisation, reduced restoration time and better reliability reporting.

 

The CEA also provided for a consumer grievance redressal mechanism under which discoms are required to ensure adequate arrangements to handle the significantly higher volume of complaints and service requests that typically arise during summer peak periods. Discoms must provide fully operational round-the-clock complaint-handling facilities, including toll-free helpline numbers, call centres, mobile app-based complaint registration and web-based portals. There must be sufficient field staff, including engineers, linemen and technicians, to ensure prompt attendance to faults and expeditious restoration of supply.