An electric pole fell due to heavy rain and wind at Hiriyadka in Udupi district on July 25, 2024. Most of the damage has been recorded in the jurisdictions of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom), Hubli Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company (CESC).
| Photo Credit: UMESH S SHETTIGAR
The Energy Department has suffered an estimated loss of ₹96.51 crore due to damage to infrastructural across Karnataka during the ongoing monsoon, until July 28. Most of the damage has been recorded in the jurisdictions of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom), Hubli Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company (CESC) where several districts have witnessed floods and landslides.
Road vanishes due to landslip near Sakleshpur.
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Special Arrangement
Gaurav Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Energy Department, said, “In Mescom jurisdiction, in Chikkamagaluru and Udupi, a lot of poles have fallen in the last few days. Similar problems have also been seen in Hassan and Kodagu districts in CESC jurisdiction. In Hescom jurisdiction, particularly in Belagavi due to the flooding of Krishna river, we had to shut down some feeders to some villages as a precautionary measure. We also have problems in Uttara Kannada district due to heavy rain and wind.”
The department has instructed Escoms to hire local linemen and gang men, even from private contractors if necessary, to repair the damaged infrastructure in their jurisdiction. The Escoms have also stocked up on necessary equipment.
Addressing a press conference on July 30, Energy Minister K.J. George said, “A total of 53,816 electric poles have been damaged so far, and 51,119 of them have been replaced. Altogether, 3,924 transformers were damaged and 3,918 of them have been replaced, 1,063 kilometres of conductors out of 1,320 kilometres, which were damaged, have been replaced so far.”
The Minister said that all the damage will be repaired within a maximum of 15 days. “We lost a huge tower in Chikkamagaluru, but our staff worked continuously to restore the power supply to affected areas in about a week.”
