MAPUSA
The commissioning of the new 33/11 KV gas insulated sub-station (2x20 MVA) set up at a cost of Rs 24.56 crore at Arradi, Calanagute is expected to give huge relief to the residents of the coastal village who have been saddled with constant power cuts and load shedding for the last several years.
Power Minister Sudhin Dhavlikar inaugurated the sub-station on Tuesday in presence of local MLA Michael Lobo, Sarpanch Joseph Sequeira, Deputy Sarpanch Geeta Parab, ZP member Dattaprasad Dabholkar, Chief Electrical Engineer Stephen Fernandes and a host of senior engineers of the department.
The now sub-station will feed the entire Calangute area by bifurcating the existing load from Saligao, Candolim and Nagoa sub-stations.
The capacity of the sub-station is 33/11 KV, 2x20 MVA Gas Insulated compact sub-station with inbuilt current transformer, voltage transformer, circuit breaker etc.
“We have completed the work on this project in one year. With the commissioning of the sub-station there will be less power interruption and the problem of load will also be taken care of,” said Chief Electrical Engineer Stephen Fernandes.
He said the sub-station is equipped with quality equipment and is designed to take care of the power needs of the entire Calangute village.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said there was an urgent need to upgrade the Saligao sub-station which will act as the power-house of Bardez and take care of the needs of the coastal belt and Bardez for next 15 to 20 years.
“The biggest challenge before the Power Minister is to bring 220/33KV sub-station in Saligao which is expected to cost Rs 350 crore. When that happens the entire problem of the coastal belt and Bardez will be resolved,” Lobo said.
He said this office will work to ensure that the project gets the approval at the earliest.
The power department’s former engineer and a resident of Calangute, Allan Pinto came for praise for selling part of his land at a low price to set up the substation.
The foundation stone for the sub-station project was laid by then Power Minister Nilesh Cabral in August 2021 and the work on the project was expected to be completed in December last year.
But due to the assembly elections the inauguration of the project was delayed.
