Chennai: Around 900 kms of low tension lines in northern parts around Tambaram in the city suburb will be laid underground in a phased manner in two years.
The first phase of the large-scale project of converting overhead cables to underground cable network in Tambaram is expected to begin by October 2018.
The mega project will be taken up by the Tamilnadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO).
Conversion of High Tension (HT) and Low Tension (LT) lines in these areas are being carried out at a budget of Rs 671 crore. The first phase will be implemented in and around Tambaram including Pallavaram, Chrompet, Pammal, Selaiyur and Medavakkam.
Sources said the move is aimed to curb electrocution and to reduce complaints of low voltage which is a common problem in the locality especially when it rains.
“Tambaram was chosen as the initial target due to the presence of many overhead cables in narrow congested lanes,” sources added.
An official said LT lines do not have a circuit breaker. “They snap easily and when they fall in puddles during monsoon they cause electrocution. This conversion will greatly help in bringing down such incidents,”the official said.
“Techno commercial evaluation for this project has been completed and the tender has also been floated. We have a total of six bidders for Tambaram. By the end of this month, we will finalise the bidders and work will start next month,”the official said.
TANGEDCO FOR HDD METHOD
Considering the number of times the roads are being dug in the area already, the official said Tangedco will opt for an internal method for laying the cables instead of digging up wide trenches on the road. “For the first time, we will implement the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) method,”the official said.