Ex-servicemen to help curb power theft

Vivek Narayanan, TNN, Jun 3, 2011, 12.04am IST
CHENNAI: They guarded the borders during their tenure in the army. Soon ex-servicemen will be lending a helping hand to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) to crack down on power theft in the state.

This is part of the new government's initiative to bring down electricity theft in the state which forms a major component of the state's transmission and distribution losses that take away 18% of all power generation. "If power theft is reduced, crores of rupees can be saved. The board's financial situation will improve to a great extent," said a source.

During the financial year 2009-2010, the TNEB's enforcement wing detected 6,230 cases of theft. Next year, that number increased by 5%. "We have been seeing more and more incidents of theft. We need to crack down on at the earliest," said a senior TNEB official.

Though the TNEB's enforcement wing nabs such offenders quite often, they are helpless while confronting unruly elements. The staff are not trained to handle rough situations. Hence, the power ministry has decided to take the help of the ex-servicemen. "They are well trained and not afraid of confronting people who sometimes use physical violence on officers," said the TNEB source.

There are over a lakh ex-servicemen in the state and the TNEB's vigilance and enforcement wing needs atleast 250 of them to help crack down on power pilferage across the state. The former soldiers will gather information about electricity theft and accompany the TNEB officials to the site and nab the pilferer. As the job involves physical strain, the TNEB is looking out for candidates between the age of 40 to 50 years.

Captain M David, incharge of Tamil Nadu ex-servicemen helpline in Fort St George, said former army personnel will only be too happy to help. "Most of them serve as sentries in front of houses or offices. This has brought their morale down. But such a task will motivate them," said David.

According to TNEB officials, the most rampant type of power theft now is misuse of electricity connection. "The consumer takes a domestic connection, but uses it to run a small business. Such pilferage is on the rise in Chennai and other districts. But we are cracking down heavily on such people, too," said the official.
Ex-servicemen to help curb power theft

Heat wave grips most states in India

Press Trust of India, Saturday April 10, 2010, New Delhi
From West Bengal in the east to Rajasthan in the northwest, heat wave swept several parts of the country with mercury hovering over 40 degrees in many areas.

In the national Capital, the maximum temperature rose from yesterday's 40.1 degrees to 40.5 deg C, which is five degree above the normal.

The temperature rose to 41 deg C in Kolkata and its neighbourhood while the districts of Purulia, West Midnapore and Bankura remained in the grip of a heat wave.

Jharsuguda in western Orissa recorded highest temperature of 45 deg C even even as the mercury level slightly dropped in coastal districts, including state capital Bhubaneswar. Many parts of the state reeled under the heat wave condition, which has so far claimed 28 lives in the state.

The desert state of Rajasthan also witnessed severe heat wave conditions with Churu remaining the hottest place with a maximum of over 43.3 deg C followed by Sriganganagar at 43.2 degrees.

Hill states also recorded relatively warm temperature. In Dehra Dun, the state capital of Uttarakhand, the mercury shot up to new high of 38.3 degrees, which is 4 degree above the normal?

With scorching sun, Shimla, known as the queen of hills, remained warm with mercury settling at 27 degrees.

Sundernagar in Himachal Pradesh recorded a maximum of 36.8 deg C while it was 35, 32.8 and 40.6 degrees in Bhuntar, Dharamsala and Una respectively.

In Punjab and Haryana, the maximum rose by up to eight notches above normal with Hisar sizzling at 42.7 degrees.

Chandigarh recorded the maximum temperature at 39 deg C, which was six degrees above the normal.
Heat wave grips most states in India

Mumbai woes“This means that while the taps dried up in some parts of the city, a large section of those who received water regularly made wasteful use of the supply,” said a senior hydraulic department official.
Mumbai Metro faces water crisis

Comment: As the Nation sweats alongwith power outages and dry taps the students are hard hit preparing for the examinations. The only beneficiaries are the Politicians who have 24x7 power supply and running water and they take a vacation to foreign lands like Swiss Alps to cool their heels!

Can our National Highways double as power grids?

There are about 70,548 kilometers National Highways alone, and thousands more in state highways, suburban thoroughfares and rural roads (approx 33 lakh Kms). Could all that asphalt be replaced by solar panels and emedded with conductors to feed solar and wind power generated enroute- and that would also double as the nation's power grid?

A pure creative outside the box, yet pragmatic thinking involved in this idea. The obvious solutions that this idea could offer to the world are obvious. Can India beat China in Green Power Technology?

This is the kind of thing worth risking a fair amount of money on. If it can't be made to work cost-effectively, it really is an idea that society can comfortably say "Ah well, it was worth the try."
National Highways Authority of India

Engineering Marvels of Electricity Boards

Challenge to all who know how to solve the problems mathematically? Please solve it.
1. Kirchoff's Current Law (KCL):
At every node, the sum of all currents entering a node must equal zero.
2. Kirchoff's Voltage Law (KVL):
The voltage law says that the sum of voltages around every closed loop in the circuit must equal zero.
Exercise:
Please apply Kirchoff's Current and Voltage laws to the following electricity nodes.


Click images for the full pictureKirchoff ka baap bhi solve nahi kar sakta. Wonder how electricity is supplied to our cities and villages. Amazing electricity distribution at Ground Zero!