Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL), today urged its domestic consumers to use power judiciously which shall safeguard DTs (Domestic Transformers) from getting damaged, resulting in power outages and hardships to the people in winter.

In a statement issued here today, a KPDCL spokesperson stated that with the onset of winter, heating load has increased with consumers in flat-rate areas using crude heating gadgets like boilers and heaters that critically overload and damage the DTs. “In metered areas, night vigils have been intensified to check bypassing of meters and hooking by consumers on bare conductor, with the intention to use power unauthorizedly,” he stated.

Anticipating DT damage in peak winter and in order to provide succour to the consumers, KPDCL has maintained a buffer stock of 1554 DTs this winter. “In the eventuality of snowfall, stocking of 2030 steel poles, 600 km of conductor and 128 barrels of Transformer Oil has also been done for immediate repair and restoration works,” he added.

KPDCL has also worked out a deep reserve buffer of DTs, STPs, ACSR and T. Oil that shall be invoked if any such need arises in peak winter due to heavy snowfall.

Last winter, a buffer stock of 1412 DTs had been maintained by KPDCL to facilitate the consumers across all 10 districts of Kashmir valley.

Reiterating KPDCL’s commitment to replace the damaged DT within the stipulated timelines, the spokesman, however, clarified that repeat damage of DT by excessive overloading by consumers shall attract longer replacement timelines, keeping in view the 24x7 working schedule of technical staff to repair the DTs at Central Workshop at Pampore, all Divisional Workshops of KPDCL and empanelled SSI units.