Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 12
Dimapur received a shocker on Sunday as a massive power transformer went up in flames at the 132Kv Nagarjan sub-station. The fire destroyed a 20Mva (66/32Kv) transformer.
Distribution transformers conking in pockets out have become a common affair state-wide yet the result of Sunday’s incident completely halted supply to Peren, the Dimapur urban core and several other villages located south of Nagarjan sub-station, in all likelihood, for several days.
“One 20MVA Transformer is completely burnt and likelihood of the adjacent Transformer also getting affected is not ruled out. Further damage to the other equipment was contained with the timely intervention of fire service from Army and Nagaland Fire Brigade,” said a press release issued by the Engineer-in-Chief, Department of Power, Nagaland.
The fire, cause of which was still to be ascertained, started around 1:50 pm. The affected areas, as per the release, include colonies/areas fed from Metha Sub-Station, Full Nagarjan, Half Nagarjan, Thilixu, Naharbari, Chekiye, Rangapahar Army Cantonment, Signal Basti, Thahekhu and Peren district.
“While the Department is making all out effort to restore the power supply as soon as possible, our esteemed consumers/public are requested to bear with us,” the release added.
Engineer-in-chief, G. Chishi, who was at the site, said that the extent of damage would be known only after technicians begin inspection on Monday. “It is rare for power transformers to catch fire,” he said.
According to Chishi, the one which caught fire was feeding a number of villages extending up till Dhansiripar. Adjacent to it was the one feeding Metha Sub-station, which supplies the urban core. Stating that the charred transformer was beyond repair, he said that the status of the other transformer would be known only after a thorough check.
Queried about any temporary measures to restore supply to the affected localities, he said that the department is contemplating installing an old 10Mva transformer as a temporary arrangement till replacements could be found. That job however is easier said than done. “The process of putting into circuit a stand-in would take a fortnight minimum”, said Chishi.
As for the consumers in the areas affected, the days ahead would be a bleak reminder of the summer of 2012 when an aging and overloaded 20Mva transformer at the same sub-station went kaput. It was months of extended load-shedding hours (2-hour off – 1-hour on) before normal supply was resumed as winter approached.
