Cyclone prone Odisha to build Rs 19,000-cr disaster immune power infra

Projecr to be taken up in a staggered manner over three years, will initially cover four coastal districts

Having faced the wrath of natural disasters in the form of devastating cyclones, Odisha has firmed up plans to install a disaster resilient power infrastructure system.

The ambitious project estimated to cost Rs 19,000 crore, is slated to be taken up in a staggered manner spanning three years in implementation. Initially, the project would cover four coastal districts- Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore and Jagatsinghpur. Five more coastal districts- Puri, Cuttack, Khurda, Ganjam and Gajapati are envisaged to be taken up in the second phase.

Odisha’s coastline has been pounded by some destructive cyclones in recent memory. Phalin, a massive cyclonic storm barrelled in the coast of southern Odisha in October 2013, dealing a body blow to power and telecom infrastructure. In May 2019, the state yet again faced a catastrophic cyclone- Fani that razed electric poles and snapped telecom and internet infrastructure. Odisha also faced damage from Hud Hud (October 2014) and Amphan (May 2020) that struck the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal respectively.

It was after the devastation of Phailin in 2013 that the state energy department had incipiently planned a disaster proof power infrastructure system. However, paucity of funds had putatively pressed the brakes on the scheme’s progress.

In the latest scheme of things, the state administration seems firm to proceed on this project on a mission mode to save enormous loss to public property from recurring cyclones. Though Odisha has won rave reviews in evacuating and saving human lives from the dread of disasters, its post cyclone management has stuck out like a sore thumb. Power transmission lines and telecom towers have often capitulated to severe cyclonic storms.

Odisha’s Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy has instructed the concerned departments to hasten the implementation of the project on emergency basis. Tripathy has urged state owned bulk power purchaser- Gridco and Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (OPTCL) to form a think tank for injecting expertise on technical, financial, quality monitoring, advocacy and regulatory issues.

“Since the new resilient system will save huge loss of public property due to frequent cyclones, the work should be prioritized on mission mode”, said Suresh C Mohapatra, Development Commissioner, Odisha.

PK Jena, Additional Chief Secretary and Special Relief Commissioner, has suggested making overhead cables and electric poles resistant to gusty wind speeds of 300 kilometres per hour (kmph) and beyond. The highest recorded wind speed during cyclones in South Asia region is 315 kmph, he said.

As per the initial contours drawn up for the plan, underground cabling would be taken up in towns while cyclone resistant overhead cabling will be implemented in rural areas. Bare conductors are to be supplanted by insulated and bunched ones whereas DP (Double Pole) mounted substations would be converted to either compact or retrofitting substations. Gas insulated H type structures are proposed to be raised for 33 and 11 KV lines.

The proposed power infrastructure system promises a host of benefits- quick restoration of power after a disaster strikes and saving losses to public property owing to its high resilience to enormous wind pressure.