HVPNL to upgrade four stations in Gurugram, Manesar to fix outages

The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) will upgrade the capacity of four overloaded substations in Gurugram and Manesar to prevent severe power outages during the upcoming summer season, officials announced on Saturday. The upgrades will address frequent summer outages caused by overloading, which affected the 66kV substations at Badshahpur, Daultabad, and Sector 46 in Gurugram and Sector 2 in IMT Manesar, they added. 

In addition to the Gurugram substations, HVPNL will upgrade four more substations in Faridabad that also faced overload and outages during the summer. These upgrades, estimated to be completed by March 2025, aim to boost capacity, ensuring that from next year, these substations operate without disruptions caused by overloading, officials said. 

HVPNL officials cited the area’s rapid infrastructure development and population growth as contributing factors to rising load demands. The loads at these eight substations kept gradually increasing every year, officials said. Looking at annual growth in demand, it is expected that they will continue to function smoothly for at least the next four years, they added. The substations, however, experienced a steep increase in demand this past summer, prompting an urgent need for capacity upgrades. To address the situation, HVPNL and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVN) officials held a joint meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways to mitigate overloading and outages. 

DHBVN’s director of operations, Vipin Gupta, said that there is a need for both new substations and upgrades to existing infrastructure in Gurugram and Faridabad. “New substations will be constructed to meet the increasing power demand smoothly for the next 5-10 years,” he said. 

”Besides, the existing overloaded substations will be upgraded to strengthen the overall power infrastructure,” Gupta said, adding that they will ensure that residents in Gurugram and Faridabad continue to get a smooth power supply even during the peak summers. 

To accommodate the upgrades, HVPNL officials have been instructed to audit their substations to assess the availability of land for new equipment installations. “We aim to increase the overall infrastructure strength by at least 90 megavolt amperes (MVA) for Gurugram shortly by upgrading the four substations by installing high-capacity transformers,” Gupta added.

According to Gupta, both DHBVN and HVPNL officials have been tasked with preparing detailed proposals for upgrades and new construction, aiming for prompt approval from senior officials to expedite project commencement.