MGVCL teams restored the power supply to flood-ravaged Vadodara in two days

• 135 teams worked round the clock to cut off the supply and ensure the safe restoration of power in residential areas
• Thankful messages from people motivate them to work towards the restoration of power on a war footing

As Vadodara limps back to normalcy after the floods, the MGVCL team has been actively engaged in restoring the power supply in the affected areas, giving people a reason to smile after suffering from this devastating flood. The team ensured rigorous safety checks before switching on the power supply in the submerged lines and transformers. In two days, the teams restored 100% power supply in residential areas, barring some commercial complexes that are still facing waterlogging issues. However, even in these complexes, MGVCL power supply has been restored upto Transformer and we are waiting for clearance from the complex establishments regarding rectification completion on their load side.

During August 26th to 28th, 2024, heavy rains and winds in the central Gujarat region damaged HT/LT lines, transformers, and power poles at various locations of MGVCL. These conditions also flooded various areas of Vadodara city, disrupting power supply in several areas. Due to heavy rainfall in Vadodara and the release of water from Ajwa Dam, the water level of the Vishwamitri River flowing through the city crossed the danger mark. A flood-like situation arose, and for the safety of consumers and equipment, the power supply had to be shut down from submerged transformers at several locations in Vadodara City.

In addition, the 66 kV Atladara and 66 kV Vidyutnagar sub-stations were completely submerged. Hence, the power supply to these sub-stations had to be switched off as a safety measure. A total of 117 numbers of 11 kV feeders and 650 numbers of transformer centers were shut off for safety reasons due to waterlogging. In Vadodara city, an estimated loss of 7.66 crore rupees was incurred during this period. The water in the city started receding gradually on 29.08.24, and MGVCL immediately allocated 105 departmental teams and 4 contractor teams to restore the supply. With the help of 35 departmental teams from DGVCL, a total of 615 line staff restored the power supply in all feeders and transformers in two days on 30.08.24 at 22:00 hrs.

“The recent flood was a challenge for us as our two sub-stations were submerged in water, and we had to cut off the supply as a precautionary measure. Similarly, we cut off the supply in the affected areas, ensuring the safety of residents. As the water receded, our technical team, along with engineers, began working on restoration while checking the safety parameters. We constantly monitored the situations and restored power, working round the clock for a complete three days. Akota, Sama, Karelibaug, Alkapuri, and Manjalpur are some of the worst-affected areas, and our teams are working to restore power in the entire city, including these areas. We attended to more than 96,000 calls and sometimes faced the wrath of people. Understanding the situation, we worked towards restoring 100% power supply in residential areas, and the thank-you messages from people give us the motivation to work even harder. We hired cranes and tractors to mobilize our workforce to reach places and work towards restoring the power supply,” said D.V. Patel, Superintending Engineer, MGVCL, Vadodara circle.

He further said that the floods are a learning experience for them and they will try to take some steps, such as reconsidering the installation of electric meters in the basement and also thinking about flood-safe outdoor units in the future.