Transformer oil theft causes blackout in India
Around 1200 residents experienced a power outage lasting eight hours on Tuesday after thieves stole transformer oil and caused the equipment to break down.
Image for illustration purposes.
India, Noida: Around 1200 residents experienced a prolonged power outage lasting eight hours on Tuesday after thieves stole transformer oil on Monday night and caused the electrical equipment to break down after some time. Two transformers of 400 kVA each in D block were targeted by the thieves. They overheated in a few hours and caught fire, eventually exploding around 1 pm on Tuesday. This left residents in about 300 houses without power through the evening until discom officials arranged for replacement transformers after filing a police complaint.
“We faced severe power disruption for around eight hours on Tuesday after two transformers exploded in D block. Officials told us that oil theft led to overheating and eventual failure of the transformers by Monday afternoon. The theft would probably have gone missing had there been no outage and officials hadn’t inspected the transformers,” said Sanjeev Kumar, RWA general secretary of Block C to F of Sector 51. Discom officials were notified of the outage and a police complaint was registered after an inspection of the transformers. Supply was restored around 9 pm on Tuesday.
The thieves remained at large until late on Wednesday evening, prompting the RWA to increase vigilance, particularly around electrical installations in the sector. Security guards were asked to maintain extra surveillance.
Source: Times of India
#blackout#India#power outage#theft#transformer oil#transformer oil theft
