ERS towers for quick reconnect

Visakhapatnam: Taking a cue from the power transmission outages during the cyclones, including the Hudhud and the recent Roanu, the Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (APTRANSCO) has procured ten Emergency Restoration System (ERS) towers at an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore from USA and Canada. In the event of collapse of the conventional EHT towers, it has been taking about one to three weeks before the power utility removing the damaged tower and erecting the new tower by transporting the required material. But the ERS towers, which do not require a foundation as in the case of the conventional towers, help restore power transmission in a few hours.

After the cyclone Hudhud plunged Vizag city into darkness for days on end, the recent Roanu has affected about 15 lakh electricity services. The heavy downpour accompanied by gusty winds resulting in collapse of the high transmission towers has been one of the reasons for delayed restoration of power supply. Learning lessons from these experiences, the APTRANSCO has kept about 10 Emergency Restoration System towers ready near the Kalapaka substation to face any contingency.

The TRANSCO officials informed they procured these towers as part of the deploying emergency restoration system to rapidly get lines back in action. Requiring no special foundation and suitable for any soil, the modular ERS tower can be erected in hours on a column-like structure by assembling the column sections and fixing cables to the ground. In the worst-case scenario, the ERS columns could also be transported through helicopters.

Three senior officials of APTRANSCO from Kadapa, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, recently completed hands-on training in USA on installation, erection and transportation of these ERS towers in the times of natural calamities. AP Transco Superintending Engineer, Visakhapatnam, S.V.R. Krishna Mohan, explained the multiple benefits of the ERS towers. “The collapsed transmission towers can be replaced within a few hours by creating a bypass through the ERS tower. Once a new tower is erected, the Emergency Restoration System  can be removed as quickly as they were installed and stored for future purposes. We have procured 10 towers at an estimated cost of '20 crore from USA and Canada,” Mr Mohan said.