Sri Vijaya Puram, Mar. 17: In a significant move towards modernizing the power distribution network in A&N Islands, two agreements and one MoU costing more than Rs. 500 Crores have been signed today at Sri Vijaya Puram under the project of Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in the august presence of the Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Dr. Chandra Bhushan Kumar, IAS. The MoU for Smart Metering project costing Rs. 53.26 Crores, the agreement for Loss Reduction costing Rs.247.12 Crores and agreement for Interconnection of Islands costing Rs.208.04 Crores was signed by the Secretary (Power) on behalf of A & N Administration and senior officials of Power Grid. The Power Grid was nominated by Ministry of Power as Project Implementing Agency (PIA) for execution of these components under RDSS.
RDSS is a comprehensive initiative by Govt. of India aimed at strengthening and modernizing the power distribution sector. These Agreements/MoU shall improve the power quality and reliability ensuring sustainability of electricity distribution system in entire A&N Islands. The scheme focuses on three key components viz. Loss Reduction, Smart Metering and Interconnection of Islands.
The Loss Reduction component focuses on upgrading the age old existing electricity distribution infrastructure to reduce losses and improve efficiency. The work will include the replacement of old and inefficient transformers, construction of new sub-stations, augmentation of existing substations, replacement of old/frayed conductors by covered conductors, segregation / bifurcation of feeders, construction of additional HT lines and strengthening of transmission lines. These interventions and improvements in the T & D system will minimize outages and voltage fluctuations.
The implementation of prepaid smart metering for consumers and system metering at feeder and distribution transformer level with communication feature along with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) will revolutionize power consumption monitoring. Consumers will benefit from accurate billing, real-time energy usage tracking and enhanced transparency in electricity consumption. The Department will be able to detect power theft, reduce losses and improve revenue collection ensuring better service delivery.
The interconnection of Islands from South Andaman to North Andaman is a preparatory work for the HVDC link with mainland. This interconnection will be at 66 KV voltage level and will help in establishing a unified grid covering 86% of total consumer base. The 66 KV grid will ensure better utilization of power resources which will reduce outages and bring in efficiency in the system by reduction in transmission losses. This project envisaged five major Substations at Bambooflat, Bakultala, Rangat, Mayabunder and Diglipur.
The signing of the Agreements and MoU between UT Administration and Power Grid is a vital step towards tapping of benefits of RDSS scheme in A&N Islands. The UT Administration is committed to provide a sustainable and reliable power infrastructure to meet the needs of all consumers.
