After 6-day shutdown, Ghaziabad substation up and running

The 132kV Kanha Upvan substation in Ghaziabad’s Karhera has resumed operations after a six-day shutdown caused by flooding from the nearby river Hindon, officials familiar with the matter said. Timely measures were taken to flush out water, saving the 220kV Morti station, which is constructed on the floodplain, from shutting down, they added.

Radhey Shyam, the superintending engineer from UP Power Transmission Corporation Limited (UPPTCL), said, “The 132kV station has resumed operations, supplying power to the distribution department (Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited - PVVNL) for further feeding the localities on Friday evening. Water was also flushed out from the 220kV station, and no shutdown was necessary for that station.”

The shutdown of the 132kV station occurred around 6.15am on Sunday, leading the six other stations (of 33kV each) of PVVNL to draw alternate supply from other larger stations to provide electricity to the affected localities. The Kanha Upvan substation supplies various feeders in Patel Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Athala, Rajendra Nagar, Nandgram, and a private site.

Neeraj Swaroop, the chief engineer (distribution – Ghaziabad zone) of PVVNL, said that the six 33kV stations are now receiving power directly from the 132kV station, and the supply has been fully restored to the localities. “Only two local feeders (of 11kV each) in Karhera remain down due to waterlogging in part of Karhera and the city forest. Once the water is flushed out, these two local feeders will also resume operation,” he said.

Officials of UPPTCL said that they will now consider making arrangements to protect the 220kV Morti station, which is constructed adjacent to the river and on floodplains.

The flooding caused by higher discharge in the river prompted the need for this protective action. SE Radhey Shyam added that while alternate sources were available for power supply when the 132kV station was shut down, there was no alternative source if the 220kV station had to be shut down, severely affecting half of the city areas.

The 220kV station at Morti supplies power to the 132kV station at Kanha Upvan and the 132kV station at Mohan Nagar. Additionally, it supplies power to feeders in Karhera, Shalimar Garden, Vikram Enclave, Koyal Enclave, Hindon Vihar, Noor Nagar (Raj Nagar Extension, New Bus Stand, Nandgram, and Lajpat Nagar), as well as some feeders of the Railways and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

In 2016, environmentalist Vikrant Sharma filed a petition against the alleged dumping of waste and debris in the river due to the construction of a project near the GT Road. He also raised concerns about the 220kV substation being built on the floodplain.

“The agencies submitted that they cleared the debris or any material from the site while nothing could materialise for the substation construction on the floodplain. The petition was disposed of,” said Dipesh Chaudhary, the environment lawyer who contested Sharma’s case.

The river Hindon’s flooding of upstream areas of Ghaziabad resulted in the inundation of Karhera and upstream villages. The river discharge swelled to 28066 cusecs at a level of 201.15 metres on Monday but later decreased considerably to 2848 cusecs at 200.05 metres on Saturday evening.