A damage caused to the underground power cable during Chennai Metrorail work on Rajiv Gandhi Salai resulted in power failure in two localities at Thoraipakkam in the early morning on Sunday.
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The maintenance staff of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) struggled for more than two hours to rectify the cable fault and restore electricity in phases.
The delay in restoring the cable fault caused frustration among consumers as they found it difficult to get any update about the power disruption through the ‘Minnagam’ call centre which remained fully engaged.
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A senior official of Tangedco said the puncturing of a 11-KV power supply line in Thoraipakkam caused the power disruption in two areas including Nehru Nagar and Thiru Vi Ka streets. The damage to the cable happened around 1 a.m. on Sunday and after repairing the cable, power supply was normalised to all the affected areas by 3 a.m. in a phased manner.
The official said the cable fault on the Information Technology corridor has been happening regularly for the past two weeks due to Metrorail work. He said a total of six incidents of cable faults have occurred during the last 10 days.
Even as the residents affected by the fault heaved a sigh of relief when power was restored fully, a tripping in Thoraipakkam substation at around 4.30 a.m. resulted in power disruption again causing hardships to the residents.