Karnataka fully geared to meet energy requirements, says Minister KJ George

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 1 (ANI): In a bid to provide uninterrupted power supply to consumers and prevent the shutdown of power lines during maintenance, Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd has decided to import and deploy two additional insulated aerial work platform vehicles for transmission lines and substations up to 400 kV voltage in the Mysore and Gulbarga regions.
"Karnataka has taken adequate steps, chalked out all remedial measures, and is fully geared to meet the state's energy requirements during the upcoming summer months. I have instructed Energy Department officials to ensure uninterrupted power is supplied to students preparing for exams and a seven-hour uninterrupted power supply to farmers in the state," Energy Minister KJ George said.
The Karnataka Power Transmission Company Limited, KPTCL, already has three such Insulated Aerial Work Platform vehicles operating in Bengaluru, Chitradurga, and Hubli. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Managing Director of KPTCL, said today that these vehicles will enable uninterrupted power supply to consumers and save crores of rupees for KPTCL.
Traditional maintenance needs to shut down the power line. The minimum time needed to restore the power is 5 hours post-shutdown, thereby causing inconvenience to these consumers. With the hot (Live) line maintenance technique, KPTCL intends to carry out the maintenance activity without shutting down using state-of-the-art tools like an insulated bucket van, an insulated bucket, and insulated scaffolding, thus not only ensuring the power supply to the consumers but also keeping the ESCOM's financial position intact, Pandey added.
KPTCL has also identified 15 personnel, who have received professional training to operate and maintain the Insulated Aerial Work Platform vehicles bare-handed.
To ensure the power supply is uninterrupted, KPTCL MD Pankaj Kumar Pandey also visited the 220 KV Nelamangala plant, inspected the Insulated Aerial Work Platform vehicle at work, and interacted with KPTCL personnel. (ANI)