Cyclone Remal: Power infrastructure worth Rs 2.50 crore damaged in Tripura, restoration process underway

Due to Cyclone Remal, electricity infrastructure worth Rs 2.50 crores was destroyed across the state while power department officials are working day and night to restore power, said Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference this evening, Power Minister Nath said that due to the cyclone, the power system was damaged very badly, including in Agartala.

"668 electric poles were destroyed, 234 km of lines were powerless, wires were damaged, and 82 transformers also stopped working. Amidst this war-like situation, the power department workers and officials worked in different places. In many places, trees are uprooted causing damage to electricity wires. In all sub-divisions, we have deployed additional teams to restore the power. In Agartala, we are hopeful we can repair around 80% of the damage today. And in other places, we can do around 50% repair. Our priority is human lives. That’s why we disconnect the line during rain or storm to save human or animal lives. As per preliminary estimation, the loss amount is around Rs 2.50 crores, and reports are coming from other places as well," he said.

Also Read: Cyclone Remal: “Working round the clock to restore situation in state”, says Tripura CM Manik Saha

Giving details about complaints, the minister said that on May 23 they received 554 complaints, among which 529 were settled. On May 24, 588 complaints were received while 570 were settled. On May 25, among 579 complaints, 540 were settled. On May 26, the power department received 662 complaints while 625 were settled.

"On May 27, during the cyclone, we received 1,384 complaints, 647 were settled, and today, we received 777 complaints and so far 340 have been settled," he told reporters.

The minister further informed that every year in June, the power demand was 362 megawatts, while this year in May, the power demand was 360 MW.

"The demand for power has increased in the Agartala periphery. Due to an increase in temperature, the demand for power increased as people are installing ACs at their homes secretly without informing the power department, which causes an increase in power consumption and damages power transformers, lines, etc.," he said.

He further informed that the power department has so far installed 1,84,228 prepaid meters, and this year 4.50 lakh smart prepaid meters will be installed.