Like most cities in India, Mysuru too has overhead power distribution cables criss-crossing the city. That means the power distribution network in Mysuru is of the overhead line type where poles are erected at the roadside on footpaths and electric lines are hung on them.
Disadvantages of overhead power distribution
There are many disadvantages to overhead power distribution cabling. Some of them are listed below
1) Hindrance to the walkers: Poles located at the roadside or on footpaths cause hindrance to pedestrian movement.
2) Dangers of electrocution: Poles can get charged with electricity during the rainy season may pose the danger of electrical shock for pedestrians.
3) Dangers of poles tripping down during storms: Power lines running on the poles can snap or fall to the ground due to fault. Anyone coming in contact with the line will get electrocuted.
4) Dangers of short-circuit due to various reasons: There could be short circuit faults on the lines due to birds or tree branches and consequent power failures
5) Unnecessary expense: Trees at the roadside need to be extensively and regularly pruned to keep the tree branches clear of the electric lines. This results in unnecessary expenses.
6) Expenses incurred in pole shifting during road widening: In the case of road widening, the entire overhead line needs to be shifted. It has to be shifted else, it will obstruct vehicular movements.
7) Cities look ugly due to overhead cables: The poles and criss-crossing lines present an ugly picture.
There are many more reasons why hanging overhead power cables should go underground in cities and towns across India. Let’s stop here and analyze further.
The advantages of UG cabling far outweigh overhead cabling
World over across countries, the overhead power line system is being replaced with UG cabling systems for urban power distribution networks due to the above-said fault lines. The underground cabling system is now the standard practice as it does not have limitations.
Apart from being a clean hidden system, it can give far superior performance in terms of safety, efficiency, reliability, and flexibility.
Not only should this system be used for new installations, but it makes sense that existing overhead lines also be replaced by underground cabling.
Build common UG ducts for all sorts of cables
To facilitate cable laying without road digging, all new roads or widened roads should necessarily have usable underground cable ducts of proper design to allow cable laying in the future and also maintenance. There should also be cable ducts or pipes laid across roads for connectivity. The ducts also can carry fiber optic cables to carry broadband/hyperband data signals.
Cultural city Mysuru needs UG cabling
Fast-growing cities like Mysuru with over a million population must have underground power cable lines for the sake of public safety. UG cabling will improve the aesthetics of the city. With UG power cabling, the government can offer reliable power at a reasonable cost to the people.
Power distribution monitoring & control
The last-mile power distribution and metering can be digitally tracked and controlled through control rooms strategically located at important places. Control rooms with giant display monitors can precisely monitor transmission lines, substations, transformers, etc. When a power outage happens in any area, it can find out the causes of failure and pinpoint the failed component which caused the power disruption. The team can now rush to the spot and fix the error in the minimum possible time.
This is the advantage of UG power cabling and digital power distribution monitoring and control.