the goan I network
PANAJI
The foundation stone for the city’s underground cabling network may have just been laid, but the government has already seen to it that the same contractors doing the project will be responsible for its maintenance five years after its completion.
The ‘smart conversion of overhead to underground electrical network’ project, designed by Imagine Panaji Smart City Pvt Ltd after two consultation meets with Ribandar’s residents, is set to be executed by M/s. Shalaka Infra-Tech (I) Pvt Ltd.
The Rs 63-crore project will see the areas of Mala, Cortim, Patto, Altinho, St Inez, Tambdi Mati, Miramar, Campal, Tonca, and Ribandar get underground cabling within an ambitious time-frame of 12 months, but Power Minister Nilesh Cabral announced that the contractors, working together with the power department, were obligated, by their agreement, to maintain the network for five years after the official completion of the project.
The project, set to start either today or tomorrow, also covers an upgradation of transformers.
The current conventional sub stations will be converted into a total of 36 compact sub stations (CSS) of 630/400 kva.
The project includes installation of 40 ring units, a 22.5 kilometer 11KV high tension cable, 66.1 kilometer 1.1 KV low tesion cable, and 180.78 kilometer 1.1 KV consumer cable.
Cabral also said that once the new network was in place, it would allow for any problems in the network to be taken care of without power disruption for the people.
The minister warned that residents of the area would face trouble till the project was complete.
He mentioned that parking normally would be a problem as roads would be dug up, but urged the people to bear with it till the project’s completion.
Meanwhile, Cabral also said that the state would soon get “smart” meters, and a good solar energy policy.
