Hyderabad: To improve voltage levels and reduce power loses especially agricultural dominated areas, the Telangana State Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGNPDCL) chairman and managing director Karnati Varun Reddy said the discom has initiated process installation of capacitor banks and voltage boosters.As of now the northern discom has around 14 lakh agricultural pump sets. Since agricultural motors create a high inductive load on rural power feeders, the power factor tends to decline, resulting in increased current flow and voltage drops., officials said.To address these issues, TGNPDCL has installed 303 capacitor banks of 2 MVAR capacity and 89 capacitor banks of 1 MVAR capacity at 33/11 kV substations during the last two-and-a-half years, Varun Reddy said in a press release on Wednesday.“Special attention is being given to preventing low-voltage problems in agricultural feeders. The combined use of capacitor banks and voltage boosters is helping improve voltage levels and provide better-quality power supply to farmers,” he said.In areas with forest terrain and long-distance power lines, establishing a new substation for every low-voltage problem may not always be technically or practically feasible. In such locations, voltage boosters are being used wherever required to address voltage-related problems effectively, Varun Reddy said. He stated that these measures ensuring quality and stable voltage supply to the farming community while significantly reducing technical power losses. In particular, capacitor banks have been installed at substations and 11 kV feeders to locally compensate for the reactive power demand caused by agricultural motors.The CMD said that the installation of 392 capacitor banks is providing relief to the capacity of Power Transformers (PTRs). This has helped avoid the immediate need for installing additional power transformers at several locations. He further stated that the capacitor banks installed at identified locations have reduced the requirement for 66 additional PTRs, resulting in an estimated saving of around ₹21 crore.Capacitor banks installed at 11 kV feeders have also contributed significantly to reducing technical power losses. Varun Reddy said that the initiative has resulted in an estimated reduction in technical losses worth approximately ₹82 crore, thereby making a positive contribution towards improving the overall efficiency of the distribution network, he said.As part of these measures, a total of 8 voltage boosters were installed in forest and remote areas in Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem and Mancherial districts, the CMD said.These measures are intended to strengthen the distribution network in geographically challenging areas, improve voltage at the tail ends of long feeders and ensure reliable and quality power supply to agricultural consumers and other consumers, he said.ends/
