In the backdrop of the exponential surge in the demand for power and unprecedented summer heat, the Department of Power has called for judicious use of electricity. Dimapur Electrical Division executive engineer Y Akito Sema in an appeal pointed out that soaring temperature was only making the situation more grave by overburdening most of the power assets and infrastructure, with many transformers getting damaged and wires getting snapped during the past few days.
To be able to deliver a stable power supply to the citizens of Dimapur, he requested the consumers to adhere to some important dos and don’ts during this crucial period. He urged the citizens to switch off all electrical appliances when not in use or required, besides remembering to switch off high value electrical appliances during load shedding/power cuts, switching them on in a phased manner (5 to 10 minutes interval) to avoid the instantaneous surge of high current whenever power was restored as it tended to damage the transformers.
He also called for clearing the trees and vegetation along the corridors of distribution and transmission lines within their vicinity, besides always informing the nearest power officer and staff while undertaking such exercises to avoid electrical accidents. He appealed for consulting the officers concerned for clearance before taking up any construction works along the lines to avoid accidents.
The executive engineer requested ward chairmen/village councils and all responsible consumers to assist the department by discouraging the defaulting consumers from using power through hooking, tampering and by-passing of energy meters, as these would deprive genuine consumers of electricity.
Further, Akito urged consumers not to switch on high-wattage electrical appliances simultaneously.
He reminded them that the electrical appliances driven by induction motors such as water pumps, deep freezers, refrigerators and compressors of air conditioners drew a current 2.5 to 3 times normal current during initial start-up.
Hence, the executive engineer explained that right after the restoration of power supply, if all the appliances were connected simultaneously, the load on the transformer became overburdened, resulting in the fuse getting burnt, which could cause delay of power supply again while the fuse was being restored. He cautioned that repeated overloading would ultimately result in the distribution transformers getting damaged.
He requested the customers not to use inefficient electrical appliances such as incandescent lamps, unrated/non-star-rated appliances and induction heating coils, but always insist on energy-efficient 5 star-rated appliances and low-wattage but efficient LED lamps.