Team Herald
MARGAO: The restricted power supply scheduled by the Electricity Department at the 33/11KV Raia substation on September 19 has left the residents of Raia and surrounding areas fuming as they complained that the repeated outages have been severely disrupting their daily life and affecting businesses.
A department official informed O Heraldo that the restricted power shutdown is necessary for changing the protection relays at the Raia sub-station and informed
that electricity may be restored within one or two hours, depending on the progress of the work.
Frustrated over the power shutdown announcement, the residents have criticised the department for the frequent outages affecting Raia, Curtorim, and neighbouring areas.
Anthony Fernandes, a resident of Raia, said that the records indicate the department carries out repairs on a monthly basis. “We don’t understand the department’s working pattern. My records show that over the past year, there have been at least 20 power shutdowns,” he alleged.
He claimed that these frequent power shutdowns are disrupting daily lives and affecting businesses.
“Many people work from home using electronic devices such as laptops and computers, so these interruptions have a significant impact on them,” Fernandes added.
Rockson Dias, another resident, urged the department to improve their planning to minimise hardships caused to the residents.
“We’ve been experiencing regular power interruptions, and it seems like the department has no effective plan to ensure a smooth power supply,” he added.
In response to the issue, the department official explained that the replacement of protection relays at the Raia substation is urgently needed. “The last power shutdown was announced for work related to a new underground power cabling connection in Curtorim,” he clarified.
He said that there will be a restricted power supply in the panchayats jurisdiction of Raia, Rachol, Camorlim, Loutolim, Curtorim and Macazana from 9 am to 2 pm.