Substandard steel equipment by manufacturers hitting power supplies
Updated: Oct 14, 2015 11:26:35am
New Delhi, Oct 14 (KNN) Rising frequency of transformer failures is giving big headaches to utility officials responsible for ensuring uninterrupted power supply through transmission or distribution network, with vendors increasingly refusing to repair damaged equipment and instead putting the responsibility squarely at the doorstep of buyers.
According to industry sources, the surge in transformer explosions is mainly due to the widespread use of second hand steel in equipment by manufacturers with the motive of profiteering at the cost of quality and durability.
The latest such instance is reported from Rajasthan where five 160 MVA transformers supplied by Maharashtra-based IMP Powers Ltd to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd in 2013 at individual price of over Rs 4 crore failed after installation.
It was detected that transformers failed due to technical defects, forcing the utility to send them back for repair to the supplier, according to a senior official in RRVPNL.
“Transformers stopped working due to technical problems. So we had to send them back to the vendor (IMP Powers) for repair,” the official told KNN. The official, however, could not offhand tell exactly how many IMP Powers transformers failed, though he hinted the number was significant.
Even more embarrassing has been RRVPNL’s experience with Hyderabad-based Victory, another transformer supplier, which blamed the utility for failure of its transformers instead of honouring performance guarantee. Not only that, it also resorted to litigation for release of its withheld payment instead of taking its failed transformers back to the workshop for repair.
But the supplier relented after the utility authorities put their foot down and threatened to blacklist it. The dispute dragged on for more than a year before the supplier withdrew the case and agreed to repair the transformers without any charge.
This trend of transformers conking off due to technical defects has taken on a menacing proportion, thanks to the widespread use of inferior-quality steel whose import is happening unhindered despite the official ban.
Industry sources said that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and customs are supposed to check import of sub-standard steel but are not doing their duty.
Meanwhile, in separate incidents, low-quality transformers supplied by greedy vendors to UP Power Corporation Ltd have claimed life and caused loss of property in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh too. In one incident, an UPPCL lineman died on the spot after falling from an electric pole which snapped. The lineman was working as a contract worker. The pole broke in half when the rope to which the wire was tied pulled by his team mates on the ground.
In another incident in the same district, steam oil spurting out of an exploded transformer scalded children in a nearby house, causing agony to the family. In yet another incident, two transformers burst into flames sparking panic in the neighbourhood. (KNN/ NM)
According to industry sources, the surge in transformer explosions is mainly due to the widespread use of second hand steel in equipment by manufacturers with the motive of profiteering at the cost of quality and durability.
The latest such instance is reported from Rajasthan where five 160 MVA transformers supplied by Maharashtra-based IMP Powers Ltd to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd in 2013 at individual price of over Rs 4 crore failed after installation.
It was detected that transformers failed due to technical defects, forcing the utility to send them back for repair to the supplier, according to a senior official in RRVPNL.
“Transformers stopped working due to technical problems. So we had to send them back to the vendor (IMP Powers) for repair,” the official told KNN. The official, however, could not offhand tell exactly how many IMP Powers transformers failed, though he hinted the number was significant.
Even more embarrassing has been RRVPNL’s experience with Hyderabad-based Victory, another transformer supplier, which blamed the utility for failure of its transformers instead of honouring performance guarantee. Not only that, it also resorted to litigation for release of its withheld payment instead of taking its failed transformers back to the workshop for repair.
But the supplier relented after the utility authorities put their foot down and threatened to blacklist it. The dispute dragged on for more than a year before the supplier withdrew the case and agreed to repair the transformers without any charge.
This trend of transformers conking off due to technical defects has taken on a menacing proportion, thanks to the widespread use of inferior-quality steel whose import is happening unhindered despite the official ban.
Industry sources said that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and customs are supposed to check import of sub-standard steel but are not doing their duty.
Meanwhile, in separate incidents, low-quality transformers supplied by greedy vendors to UP Power Corporation Ltd have claimed life and caused loss of property in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh too. In one incident, an UPPCL lineman died on the spot after falling from an electric pole which snapped. The lineman was working as a contract worker. The pole broke in half when the rope to which the wire was tied pulled by his team mates on the ground.
In another incident in the same district, steam oil spurting out of an exploded transformer scalded children in a nearby house, causing agony to the family. In yet another incident, two transformers burst into flames sparking panic in the neighbourhood. (KNN/ NM)
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