May reports highest power disruptions, surpassing summer, monsoon months

Bengaluru: Amid numerous complaints of power disruption owing to pre-monsoon rains in Bengaluru, data accessed by DH shows that power disruptions are the highest in May compared to any other month. 

While the demand during May is not as high as in the summer months, Bescom officials said that the first few showers of the year cause the most damage to electrical infrastructure. 

"Many trees would have gone dry during the summer and the first heavy showers of the year tend to uproot many trees, resulting in damage to power cables,” a senior Bescom official explained. 

He added that the pre-monsoon showers are usually accompanied by gusty winds and this causes more damage to the electrical infrastructure. "Not just cables but many poles also get damaged and come down,” he said. 

Sources also said that pre-monsoon maintenance is crucial since the electrical infrastructure that heats up because of high temperatures during the summer is vulnerable to damage during the first few showers of the year. 

"The overhead power cables are usually placed on silicon materials and turn brittle owing to the high summer temperature. The first few showers tend to damage them. Though we try to take as many preventive measures as possible during the pre-monsoon activities, it is difficult to manage damage during the first four or five showers," another senior official said. 

This year, too, Bescom was flooded with numerous complaints between May 1 and May 9 when the city received the first few spells of heavy pre-monsoon showers. On a few days during heavy rainfalls, Bescom helplines had received over 15,000 calls in a span of four hours. 

On May 3, when the city received the first heavy showers of the year, Bescom reported that close to 305 electric poles and 57 transformers were damaged across its jurisdiction. Officials assessed the situation and concluded that costs of repairing the infrastructure could go up to Rs 1.18 crore. 

Data also shows that disruptions are lower even during the monsoon and the summer. In the summer, though the demand is high, there will be no major disruptions since the infrastructure is not damaged. 

"By the time the (southwest) monsoon arrives, many weak trees would have already come down and even the winds would have reduced. Hence, disruptions are limited,” a Bescom official said.