Acknowledgements

With a growing economy and increasingly complex electrical infrastructure, curbing

electrical accidents has become an important concern for the safety of the citizens. The

Electrical Inspectorate considers electrical safety at the helm of its functioning and would

therefore like to thank the Hon'ble Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) for

the opportunity to present insights on occurrences of electrical accidents in the State and on

ideas to curb such accidents in the future.

The Electrical Inspectorate would also like to thank the State Advisory Committee for its

proactive concern over large number of electrical accidents and for warranting a detailed

study thereon which has led to this Study Report.

Being the Head of the Electrical Inspectorate, I would like to express gratitude towards my

team comprising of Dy. CEIs Mr. Ashwin Chaudhari, Mr. Rajesh Desai and Mr. Mahesh

Patel; Electrical Inspectors (EI) Mr. Vasant Suthar and Mr. Shwetal Shah; Assistant

Electrical Inspectors (AEI) Mr. Nilang Shah, Mr. Gopal Prajapati and Mr. Manoj

Hansaliya; Jr. AEIs Dr. Mehul Panchal, Mr. Lekhraj Chandavat, Mr. Rajen Vasavada and

Electrical Sub Inspectors Ms. Dhruvita Mandaliya and Mr. Diwakar Gandhi and several

others whose efforts have seen this report to completion. I would also like to thank Mr.

Chandrakant Patel, Executive Engineer, Liaison Office of GUVNL at EPD for providing

necessary data for analysis. I thank the contributors for their constant support throughout this

process – from gathering, organizing and analysing the data to preparing the final report.

The Electrical Inspectorate hopes to be of greater service not only to the State, but also to the

Nation and believes this report to be an initial step towards a new paradigm of electrical

safety.

(Haiderali Khoja)

Chief Electrical Inspector Date: September 5, 2019

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................... 1

1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 2

1.1 Sector Overview .......................................................................................... 2

1.2 Problem Statement and Objectives .............................................................. 2

1.3 Approach of Study ....................................................................................... 4

2. Legal Provisions Pertaining to Electrical Safety .......................................... 6

2.1 Act and Rules for Electrical Safety and Accident Investigation ................. 6

2.2 Notice of Accidents and Injuries ................................................................. 7

2.3 Role of the Electrical Inspectorate .............................................................. 8

3. Deep-Dive on Electrical Accidents in Gujarat State ................................. 10

3.1 Issues Identified from the Study ................................................................ 10

3.2 Statistical Analysis of Historical Data ....................................................... 11

3.3 Zone wise Electrical Accident Data for year 2017-18 .............................. 19

4. Measures to Curb Electrical Accidents ...................................................... 20

4.1 Safety Measures Ensured by the Electrical Inspectorate .......................... 20

4.2 Remedial Measures under CEA Safety Regulations ................................. 22

4.3 Additional Measures Recommended by the Electrical Inspectorate ......... 27

4.3.1 Measures to Reduce Accidents in Transmission System ................... 32

4.3.2 Measures to Reduce Accidents in Distribution System ...................... 33

4.3.3 Measures to Reduce Accidents in Industrial Premises ....................... 38

4.3.4 Measures to Reduce Accidents in Residential Premises .................... 40

4.3.5 General Measures to Reduce Electrical Accidents ............................. 40

Annexures ............................................................................................................ 43

1

Executive Summary Electrical installations have grown cumulatively about 22% over 2011-2018.

With such growth in installations and given that, electrical accidents are fatal

compared to other kinds of accidents, electrical safety is becoming a pressing

concern for the State Government. The legal framework also makes the role of

the Electrical Inspectorate critical in inspecting electrical installations and

investigation of electrical accidents in these installations. To gather detailed

information on electrical accidents, the Electrical Inspectorate has divided the

State into four decentralized zones and data obtained from each zone has been

critically analysed to prepare this report. Several insights were generated from

this analysis. It was observed that most accidents occurred in DISCOM

installations, making it a point of focus for electrical safety. Human fatal

accidents occurred primarily due to accidental live contact, defective

installations and unauthorised work. Human non-fatal accidents occurred

primarily due to neglect of safety measures while animal fatal accidents

occurred due to snapping of conductors and lack of maintenance. The Electrical

Inspectorate, through its efforts, has managed to keep accidents in control,

despite the growth in infrastructure. As a result, accidents per customer and per

unit of electrical infrastructure have decreased over the past few years. In light

of the issues that were identified, the Electrical Inspectorate has also put certain

safety measures in place, some mandated by law, while some initiated by the

Electrical Inspectorate itself. Besides, additional safety recommendations from

the Electrical Inspectorate have also been outlined in the report. With a Zero

Accident Vision, the Electrical Inspectorate has recommended safety measures

covering the entire electrical infrastructure and stakeholders viz., transmission

and distribution systems, industrial and residential installations across the state.

2

1. Introduction 1.1 Sector Overview “Electricity can transform people’s lives, not just economically, but also socially.”

The above quote by Shri Piyush Goyal in the year 2014, the then Hon’ble Minister of Power,

Government of India in an interview with “The Guardian” churns out the scale of the

significance of Electricity and the way it touches human life. Undoubtedly, Electricity

indirectly touches virtually all segments of our life by way of energizing everything from

industrial, manufacturing, commercial to residential sectors.

The Electricity Industry covers Generation, Transmission, Distribution and Supply of

electricity to general public and industries. India’s power sector is one of the diversified ones

in the world with the source of power generation ranging from conventional source such as

coal, gas, hydro and nuclear power to viable non-conventional sources such as wind, solar

and agricultural and domestic waste.

1.2 Problem Statement and Objectives Electricity is backbone of the growth and development of any State or Nation. Supplying

electricity to all class of consumers (such as industrial, commercial, agricultural and

residential consumers) by the Distribution Companies (DISCOMs),being their universal

service obligation, assumes greater significance in context with safety of human beings and

animals.Uninterrupted, reliable and good quality power supply associated with wise, efficient

and safe usage thereof by every stakeholder is unavoidable for the society in the era of ever

increasing per capita consumption of electricity.

Generation, Transmission and Distribution are three major technical functions in Electricity

Industry right from producing electricity to supplying it to the end users, i.e. consumers of

electricity including general public and industries. It is essential to ensure perpetual safety of

all the stake holders of the electricity industry while supplying continuous electricity to them

and hence electrical safety becomes utmost important for the Society, State and Nation as a

whole. That is why; it is prerogative of the State Government to ensure: (a) Safe development

of electricity network, (b) Safe operation and maintenance thereof and (c) Safe usage of

electricity by the consumers.

3

Nowadays, electricity is the most commonly used form of energy and is an important part of

everyday life. Violation of the laws related to electricity implies material damages, human

injuries and, unfortunately very often, loss of life. According to the international statistics,

electric accidents are the most fatal among the other kinds of accidents. As usage of

electricity is increased and so electrical accidents are also common, if not unavoidable, in the

different field and environment. They occur for a number of reasons, whether it concerns the

management, equipment, employees or users. There is often no one person to blame; as the

old saying goes, accidents just happen .The problem is, they happen too frequently, and have

far too many dangerous consequences to be complacent about them. In fact, according to the

Electrical Inspectorate, based on investigations of electrical accidents over a period of past

many years, there are 12 common causes of electrical accidents that happen while electricity

is being used:

1. Unsafe system of work

2. Inadequate information

3. Lack of training

4. Inadequate isolation

5. Non-compliance of Rules

6. Ineffective supervision of work activities

7. Working on Live wires

8. Unsuitable or sub-standard test equipment

9. Poor maintenance of electrical installations

10. Failure to manage work

11. Deployment of non-competent personnel for undertaking the work

12. Open or Uninsulated electrical wiring

Electrical Inspectorate has been continuously working towards implementation of the

Electrical Safety measures in the State and has been making efforts to spread awareness of

electrical safety at home as well as at work place. It investigates each electrical mishap and

maintains record of electrical accidents reported in the State. Accident data between 2011 -

2018 shows that there is no significant increase in the number of electrical accidents despite

massive expansion in the electrical network. However, the absolute number of electrical

accidents is always a major concern for the Electrical Inspectorate.

4

State Advisory Committee, established in pursuance of section 87 of the Electricity Act, 2003

by the Hon’ble Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission, has also raised concern over

large number of electrical accidents taking place in the State during the 25th meeting held on

10-07-2018. Considering seriousness of the issue, the Hon’ble Commission directed the

Chief Electrical Inspector (CEI) to prepare detailed study report in this regard and submit to

the Hon’ble Commission for perusal of the Committee Members and hence this report has

been prepared.

1.3 Approach of Study The Electrical Inspectorate has presence almost in each taluka of the State and field

Inspectors investigate electrical accidents taking place into their respective area.The findings

are then consolidated with a view to obtain a macroscopic and microscopic picture covering

all aspects viz., technical errors, procedural errors, negligence, lack of diligence, design errors

and other types of violations. On the bases of above scrutiny, details, reasons and remedial

measure are prepared and entailed in the report. Each report then sent to the respective

DISCOMs/Utility/Consumer/Owner of the installation with suggestions and curative

measures to prevent re-occurrence of such electrical accidents in future. The whole State has

been divided into four zones for efficient services and decentralised administration of the

Electrical Inspectorate as illustrated in the map.

• North Zone

• Central Zone

• Saurashtra Zone

• South Zone

5

On the basis of such a wide and enormous experience of investigation of the electrical

accidents, the Electrical Inspectorate has prepared this detailed study report on the basis of

findings of investigations of fatal and non-fatal electrical accidents happened to human

beings and animals over the past few years across the State. This report contains analysis of

historical data of electrical accidents and cause of accidents based on findings of

investigations, measures to prevent reoccurrences and suggestions to reduce the number of

accidents.

6

2. Legal Provisions Pertaining to Electrical Safety Before Electricity Act, 2003, the Indian Electricity sector was guided by the Indian

Electricity Act, 1910, The Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 and the Electricity Regulatory

Commission Act, 1998. In order to consolidate the laws relating to generation, transmission,

distribution, trading and use of electricity for taking measures conducive to development of

electricity industry, promoting competition therein, protecting interest of consumers and

supply of electricity to all areas, rationalization of electricity tariff, ensuring transparent

policies regarding subsidies, promotion of efficient and environmentally benign policies,

constitution of Central Electricity Authority, Regulatory Commissions and establishments of

Appellate Tribunal for matters therewith or incidental thereto. The Central Government

enacted Electricity Act 2003(the Act), which came into force w.e.f. June 10, 2003 in the

Nation and December 10, 2003 in the State of Gujarat. Under this Electricity Act various

important regulations have been framed like technical standards for connectivity to grid, grid

standard, technical standard for construction for electrical plants and electrical lines and the

most vital regulation that is “Central Electricity Authority (measures relating to Safety &

Electric Supply) regulations, 2010”, deal with the safety aspects in relation to Generation,

Transmission and Distribution of electrical power and public safety.

2.1 Act and Rules for Electrical Safety and Accident Investigation

The Constitution of India places electricity in the concurrent list, that is, on which both the

central and state governments have jurisdiction. In practice this has meant that the Centre

takes charge of all interstate matters, as well as the matters where the ownership rests with

the Centre. The state government is responsible for matters within the state.

India has adopted a new legislation called the Electricity Act, 2003 with effect from

10thJune2003, to replace some age-old existing legislation operating in the country. The new

Act consolidates the laws relating to constitution of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and

the CEA has made several regulations related to electrical safety in exercise of the powers

conferred by sub section (2)of section 177 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (Act), namely, as

follows.

(a) The Central Electricity Authority (Technical Standards for Construction for Electrical

Plants and Electric Lines) Regulations, 2010.

7

(b) The Central Electricity Authority (Grid Standards) Regulations, 2010 which every

transmission licensee has to comply for operation and maintenance of transmission lines.

(c) The Central Electricity Authority (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply)

Regulations, 2010 for protecting the public (including the persons engaged in the

generation, transmission or distribution or trading) from dangers arising from the

generation, transmission or distribution or trading of electricity, or use of electricity

supplied or installation, maintenance or use of any electric line or electrical plant.

The electrical installation shall generally be carried out as per the requirements of the

Electricity Laws and also according to the specifications laid down in the Indian Standard

(IS). The electrical installation shall also be in conformity with the I.S specifications, NEC,

Local Government Body.

2.2 Notice of Accidents and Injuries Section 161 of the Electricity Act, 2003 1. If any accident occurs in connection with the generation, transmission, distribution,

supply or use of electricity in or in connection with, any part of the electric lines or

electrical plant of any person and the accident results or is likely to have resulted in loss

of human or animal life or in any injury to a human being or an animal, such person shall

give notice of the occurrence and of any such loss or injury actually caused by the

accident, in such form and within such time as may be prescribed, to the Electrical

Inspector or such other person as aforesaid and to such other authorities as the

Appropriate Government may by general or special order, direct.

2. The Appropriate Government may, if it thinks fit, require any Electrical Inspector, or any

other person appointed by it in this behalf, to inquire and report-

a) as to the cause of any accident affecting the safety of the public, which may have been

occasioned by or in connection with, the generation, transmission, distribution,

supply or use of electricity, or

b) as to the manner in, and extent to, which the provisions of this Act or rules and

regulations made thereunder or of any license, so far as those provisions affect the

safety of any person, have been complied with.

8

3. Every Electrical Inspector or other person holding an inquiry under subsection (2) shall

have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 for the

purpose of enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of

documents and material objects, and every person required by an Electrical Inspector be

legally bound to do so within the meaning of section 176 of the Indian Penal Code.

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (m) of Sub-section (2) of section 180 read with

sub-section (1) of section 161 of the Electricity Act, 2003, the Government of Gujarat has

made the Gujarat Electricity (Notice of Occurrence of Accident) Rules, 2004 prescribing time

and form of notice of accident as follows.

If any accident occurs in connection with the generation, transmission, distribution, supply or

use of electricity in or in connection with, any part of the electric lines or electrical plant of

any person and the accident results or is likely to have resulted in loss of human or animal

life or in any injury to a human being or an animal, such person shall give intimation to the

Electrical Inspector by telephone, telegraph, fax or E-mail about such accident and loss of

human or animal life or any injury within twenty four hours of the knowledge of occurrence

of such accident and shall give written notice and report in Form-A appended to these rules

within forty eight hours of the knowledge of occurrence of such accident.

2.3 Role of the Electrical Inspectorate

The role of the Electrical Inspector is very much important for safeguarding the electrical

safety of the public at large and the property because electricity is most commonly used form

of energy and it is an important part of everyday life. Electrical Inspector is responsible for

inspecting the installation of electrical systems and equipment to detect safety lacunae and

ensure they comply with electrical codes and standards. He visits various sites and electrical

installations, performs inspection, and makes recommendations for improvement. Electrical

Inspector also investigates accidents occurred due to electricity and take appropriate actions

in the matter. Electrical Inspector is appointed by the State Government under Section 162 of

the Act. Every Inspector so appointed exercises the powers and performs the functions of a

Chief Electrical Inspector or an Electrical Inspector under this Act and exercises such other

powers and performs such other functions as may be prescribed. As provided in Section 161

of the Electricity Act, 2003, it is obligatory to send notice of accidents and injuries to the

Electrical Inspector whenever electrical accident takes place. Government of Gujarat has also

9

made the Gujarat Electricity (Notice of Occurrence of Accident) Rules, 2004under

Section 161 of the Electricity Act, 2003.

As per this Rules; if any accident occurs in connection with the generation, transmission,

distribution, supply or use of electricity in or in connection with, any part of the electric lines

or electrical plant of any person and the accident results or is likely to have resulted in loss of

human or animal life or in any injury to a human being or an animal, such person shall give

intimation to the Electrical Inspector by telephone, telegraph, fax or E-mail about such

accident and loss of human or animal life or any injury within twenty four hours of the

knowledge of occurrence of such accident and shall give written notice and report in Form-A

within forty eight hours of the knowledge of occurrence of such accident.

10

3. Deep-Dive on Electrical Accidents in Gujarat State Gujarat State has witnessed drastic growth in important sector like industrial, commercial and

real estate due to availability of quality and consistent power. Due to tremendous

development, much more advancement has taken place in the field of power generation,

transmission and distribution network. The Government’s prestigious scheme like “Jyoti

Gram Yojana” to render uninterrupted power in rural areas has made the H.T/L.T network

very complex and dense. However, with this development electrical Inspectorate has to play

vital role to regulate the safety aspects by way of dedicated service in the interest of general

public.

Gujarat has achieved the distinction of being one of the most industrially developed states

and contributes about a quarter to India’s goods exports. Statistical data witnessed rapid

growth in respect of the development of our State by the way of increased number of

Installation like H.T, L.T, and Transformer centre to supply power to the various sector.

3.1 Issues Identified from the Study Technological advancements, coupled with rapid electrification and unplanned growth of

electrical distribution network led to Safety Management emerging as the new challenge, and

this, in fact, is the negative realm of development.

Rapid development and urbanization have led to an unprecedented growth in the electrical

network of the state. However, as a cost for rapid development, the complexity of the

network has increased too and so have the number of accidents. Over the course of 2011-18,

the number of Agricultural (AG) connections and transformer centres have increased

manifold. Residential and commercial installations have also increased with increasing

economic development and availability of homes and new business spaces. While it is natural

that growth in the electrical network will also exhibit some growth in the number of

casualties, but we have observed that with the efforts taken by the Electrical Inspectorate,

accidents have not grown at the same rate as that of installations. However, it is responsibility

of the Electrical Inspectorate to ensure electrical safety of the citizens and therefore,

statutorily, electrical accidents are investigated and analysed by the Inspectorate.

11

Over the year 2011 to 2018, the data gathered for human fatal, non-fatal and animal fatal

accidents have exhibited no interpretable trend. However, these have been looked deeper

into, and analyzed in terms of the ownership, and the root cause of the accident. A table

summarizing the findings is shown below. Refer to Annexure 2 for further data and analysis.

Category of Accident Major Source(s) of Accident Root Cause(s)

Human Fatal DISCOMs, Other Private Installations

Accidental Live Contact, Defective Installation,

Unauthorised Work (recent)

Human Non-Fatal DISCOMs Neglect of Safety Measures

Animal Fatal DISCOMs Conductor Snap, Lack of Maintenance

Root cause analysis indicates that over 68% and 27% of the accidents in 2013-18 have

happened in DISCOMs and Private Consumers respectively, indicating that monitoring

DISCOMs and regulating Private Consumers for electrical safety is a high-priority concern.

As mentioned earlier, the rate of growth of accidents is lower than the rate of growth of

installations. Further investigation into data revealed that over the course of this study,

accidents have reduced from 1 per 8700 consumers to 1 per 11500 consumers. A similar

trend is also seen in the accidents in the distribution, generation and transmission

infrastructure with decreasing accidents per unit of electrical infrastructure. The issues

presented above have been identified through a detailed statistical analysis of historical data,

which has been discussed in the subsequent section.

3.2 Statistical Analysis of Historical Data As inferred from the charts in the following Figure 1,2the number of AG and transformer

centres have increased considerably, which depicts the increase in network complexity. The

number of residential installations has also increased with increasing demand generated from

economic development.

12

Figure 1, 2: Growth in Electrical Installations; Growth in Residential/Commercial Installations

Furthermore, from Figure 3 shown below, the rise in the Electrical accidents is meagre as

compared to the growth in the network. We see that the growth of accidents was almost flat

over the period of analysis. However, keeping a zero accident mindset, the analysis was

thereafter focussed onto the place where these accidents took place.

Figure 3: Installations versus Accidents

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

x 10

0000

Growth in Electrical Installations

Transformer Centers HT/EHT

LT AG

90

95

100

105

110

115

120

125

130

x 10

0000

Growth in Residential/Commercial Installations

Residential Commercial

11851581 12263258 12719210 13186186 13622574 14183757 14520467

1367 1272 1349 1087 1153 1341 1267

-3000000

-1000000

1000000

3000000

5000000

7000000

9000000

11000000

13000000

15000000

17000000

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18

Installations versus Accidents

Total Nos of Installations Accidents

13

Figure 4, shown below, indicates that due to certain reasons, the total no. of human fatal,

human non-fatal and animal fatal accidents keep fluctuating year wise and show no

interpretable trend. However, we see that a majority of accidents reported are Human Fatal in

nature. For an in-depth assessment, this scenario is analysed as to how the type of installation

has an impact on no. of accidents and which reasons account for higher no. of accidents.

Figure 4: Year-wise Data on Accidents

Visualization of accident data versus type of ownership in Figure 5 below shows that a

majority of Human Fatal accidents occur on the DISCOMs installations and Private

Installation other than owned by industry. The major cause of human fatal accidents on the

DISCOMs installations is faulty installations. While the reason of many human fatal

accidents occurred in other than industrial installations i.e. residential, commercial and others

are mainly due to lacunae in safety verification before releasing the electrical connections.

The DISCOMs have to ensure that electrical safety parameters are verified before releasing

the electrical connections to such class of consumers. A root-cause analysis in Figure 6 also

shows that majority of human fatal accidents occur due to accidental live contact and

defective installations. Data over recent periods (2016-18) has also shown an increasing

contribution of unauthorized work to Human Fatal accidents, and hence is an issue that needs

to be addressed. From the analysis in Figure 5, 6, we can therefore conclude that addressing

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

Year-wise Data on Accidents

Human Fatal Human Non-fatal Animal Fatal

14

issues of accidental live contact, defective installations and unauthorized work in DISCOMs

and Other Private Installations is critical and needs to be addressed on priority.

Figure 5: Human Fatal Accidents versus Type of Ownership

Figure 6: Causes of Human Fatal Accidents

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

Human Fatal Accidents versus Ownership

Generating Company DISCOMs Govt. Ind. Installation

Pvt. Ind. Installation Other Govt. Installation Other Pvt. Installation

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

Causes of Human Fatal Accidents

Conductor snap Accidental live contact Neglect Safety MeasuresDefective Installation Lack of Maintenance Unathorised WorkOther

15

A similar approach is taken while analysing Human Non-Fatal accidents. Graphical

representation of data in Figure 7, 8 shows that majority of Human Non-fatal accidents occur

on DISCOM installations and that these accidents occur primarily because of poor attention

to safety measures.

Figure 7: Human Non-Fatal Accidents versus Ownership

Figure 8: Causes of Human Non-Fatal Accidents

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

Human Non-Fatal Accidents versus Ownership

Gen.Company DISCOMS Govt. Ind Installation

Pvt.Ind Installation Other Govt Installation Other Pvt.Installation

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

Causes of Human Non-Fatal Accidents

Conductor snap Accidental live contact Neglect Safety Measures Defective Installation

Lack of Maintenance Unauth. Work Other

16

Just like Human Fatal and Non-Fatal accidents, a majority of the Animal Fatal accidents also

occur in DISCOM installations and the root cause for these accidents is usually lack of

maintenance or snapping of conductors. This implies that ensuring electrical safety in

DISCOMs’ installations is a major concern.

Figure 9: Animal Fatal Accidents versus Ownership

Figure 10: Causes of Animal Fatal Accidents

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

Animal Fatal Accidents versus Ownership

Gen.Company DISCOMS Govt. Ind.Installation

Pvt.Ind.Installation Other Govt.Installation Other Pvt.Installation

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

Causes of Animal Fatal Accidents

Conductor snap Accidental live contact Neglect Safety Measures Defective Installation

Lack of Maintenance Unathorised Work Other

17

As shown above, data on electrical accidents of last five years shows that majority of the

electrical accidents are happened on the distribution network of the Distribution Companies

and installation of the private consumers. Private consumers include agricultural, residential,

commercial and industrial consumers. Exposure of electricity lines, transformer centres and

unsafe work practice or unawareness of electrical safety parameters in areas where there were

high and low-voltage lines were the reasons responsible for majority of the injuries. The

thrust area is installation of the DISCOMs and the installations belonging to the private

consumers. The same has been highlighted in the chart below.

Figure 11: Electrical Accidents over 2013-18

With increasing number of installations and high network complexity, the numbers of

accidents are also expected to increase. Efforts from the Electrical Inspectorate have,

however, resulted in fewer accidents per consumer and per unit of electrical infrastructure

currently in place. As part of this study, certain indicators have been defined to illustrate how

the numbers of installations have scaled up without a corresponding increase in the number

of accidents.

Electrical Accidents over 2013-18

Generation & Transmission

Distribution

Govt. or Semi Govt. Installations

Private Consumers

18

Indicator/Ratio(Higher is Better) 2011-12 2018-19

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𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝐿𝐿𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝐿𝐿𝑇𝑇ℎ 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝐿𝐿𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝑁𝑁 𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶 𝐾𝐾𝐾𝐾𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝐿𝐿𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝑁𝑁

92 530

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 𝐷𝐷𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑇𝑇𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝑜𝑜𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝐼𝐼𝐶𝐶𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝐼𝐼𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶

5467 17484

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 𝐷𝐷𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑇𝑇𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝑜𝑜𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 𝑇𝑇𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝐼𝐼𝐶𝐶𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝐼𝐼𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶

1822 48875

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 𝐷𝐷𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑇𝑇𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝑜𝑜𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 𝑇𝑇𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶 𝐷𝐷𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝐴𝐴𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑇𝑇𝐴𝐴𝑇𝑇𝐶𝐶 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝐶𝐶𝑇𝑇𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁

1071 2246

To deliver measurable impact and set goals accordingly, the number of accidents have also

been analysed with respect to the number of circle offices, divisions and sub-divisions in the

state. A summary of the same for the year 2018-19 is shown below:

Number of Circle Offices 25 Number of Division Offices 103

Number of Sub-Division Offices 623

Accidents

per Circle Office Accidents

Per Division Accidents

per Sub-Division

DISCOMs 26 7 1

We previously observed that DISCOMs are a major pain-point for electrical accidents. As

highlighted in the table above, it is seen that 26 accidents took place in DISCOMs per circle

office in the year 2018-19. As a measure to reduce electrical accidents, the Electrical

Inspectorate is directing DISCOMs to reduce accidents per sub-division to 0.5 and gradually

to 0.

19

3.3 Zone wise Electrical Accident Data for the year 2018-19

Zone Human fatal Human Non-fatal Animal fatal Total

Central zone 120 44 69 233

South zone 128 85 98 311

North zone 81 35 52 168

Saurashtra zone 256 67 129 452

Total 585 231 348 1164

The above data for the year 2018-19 and previous historical data reveals that highest number

of accidents occur in Saurashtra Region followed by South, Central and North almost in all

categories.

20

4. Measures to Curb Electrical Accidents In spite of rapid growth in the electrical installations we are able to restrict the numbers of

electrical accidents up to certain extent. But we need a philosophy of Zero Accident Vision

which states that nobody should be injured due to electrical accident. It is more a way of

thinking rather than a numerical goal; In terms of accident prevention strategies, Zero

Accident Vision can be viewed as a way of thinking; this proposes that all accidents can be

prevented. When no accidents are allowed or approved, this provides a basis for learning

from accidents and improving processes.

Electrical Inspectorate has taken many steps for preventing and reducing the number of

electrical accidents as well as for spreading awareness amongst the people of the State for

safe usage of the electricity. It is observed that absolute number of total Human or Animal

electrical mishaps is more than a thousand due to foregoing reason and the complexity in the

electrical networks of various licensees across the state. Based on the inquiry of such

accidents, Electrical Inspectorate suggests remedial measures to the licensees so as to curtail

the numbers of electrical mishaps.

4.1 Safety Measures Ensured by the Electrical Inspectorate Electrical Inspectors inspect electrical installations having voltage level exceeding 650 V

prior to energization as provided in Regulation43 of the Central Electricity Authority

(measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply)Rregulations, 2010. Permission to energise

such electrical installations is granted if electrical safety parameters are observed. If

installation is found unsafe during the inspection, then appropriate actions are advised for

rectification of the defects and energization permission is granted once the defects are

complied with and thereafter supply commenced by the DISCOM.

The installations belonging to residential and commercial category of the consumers having

voltage level up to 650V are not inspected by the Electrical Inspectorate. In such

installations, supply is commenced by the DISCOMs upon submission of the site test report

by the Licensed Electrical Contractor. In such installations the roll of the Licensed Electrical

Contractor and the DISCOMs is very much critical. If safety parameters are verified before

commencement of supply, mishaps and accidents can be avoided particularly in the category

of such consumers. Sometimes, Electrical Contractors submit Site Test Report to the

DISCOMs without visiting the site or carrying out any testing which jeopardize the safety.

21

Electrical Inspectorate takes strict actions against the electrical contractor who found guilty

and involved in such malpractice or certifying unsafe work. It is also desired that the

DISCOMs should also verify the safety of the installations before commencing the power in

such installations.

Similarly, if defects are found in the installations of the DISCOMS during initial inspection,

Electrical Inspector does not grant energising permission but issues memo of defects

observed and asks concern officials of the DISCOMs to rectify the same.Following defects

are commonly observed in the installations of the DISCOMs and Electrical Inspectorate does

not permit DISCOMs to energize installations having such defects.

1. Inefficient earthing.

2. Absence of protection at Transformer Centres.

3. Inappropriate vertical clearance of live exposed parts from the ground.

4. Open and danger distribution box on Transformer Centres.

5. Dangerous position of fuse and switch.

6. Absent of guarding or inappropriate guarding.

7. Inappropriate clearance of line conductors from the building.

8. Absence of stay insulators in guy wires.

9. Open and danger jumpers.

10. Dangerous crossing of electric lines.

11. Installation in public place which jeopardizes safety.

12. Absence of fuse.

Majority of the electrical installations of DISCOMs are found defective during inspection and

such defective installations are major cause of the concern. It is observed by experience that

the DISCOMs are not keen for rectification of the defects on account of non-availability of

the materials, huge work load and lack of man power. Many times, faulty installation is

energized endangering electrical safety and leading to accident.

Investigation of the causes of electrical accidents and the frequency of their occurrence

clearly indicated that there is a need for emphasizing the development of a culture of safety in

different areas of various communities, especially among employees engaged in occupations

related to electricity and construction and pupils studying in schools to reduce the numbers of

accidents. The following steps are also suggested.

22

• Facilitating and expediting the process of transition of people from vicinity of distribution

network to other areas.

• Identification of high-risk areas is the responsibility of all personnel of the electricity

industry, especially authorities who have responsibility for public safety.

• Implementation of immediate measures for emergency cases in which modifications are

required.

• Increasing public awareness about the dangers associated with power lines and electricity

networks by providing educational pamphlets and safety messages.

Further, remedial measures to be implemented on Distribution side, Industry side and

Residential side are also suggested, which are included in Annexure.

It is desired that the Hon’ble Commission issues necessary directives to all the DISCOMs

and Licensees working in the State for proactive actions to implement the recommendations

as suggested. The positive response of the DISCOMs and Licensees will certainly lead to

electrically safer society.

4.2 Remedial Measures under CEA Safety Regulations Several measures related to electrical safety are specified in the Central Electricity Authority

(Measures Relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations, 2010 in pursuance of the

Electricity Act, 2003. Analysis and investigation of various electrical mishaps pertaining to

Human/Animal reveal that compliance of the following safety measures specified in the

aforesaid safety regulations by the suppliers and consumers of electricity are necessary to

ensure safety of various electrical installations and to avoid the occurrences of electrical

accidents.

1. As specified in Regulation5 of the Central Electricity Authority (Measures Relating to

Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations, 2010 the licensee involved in generation,

Transmission and distribution shall designate Electrical Safety Officer to ensure electrical

safety of the employee handing the electrical equipments. It is also to be seen that proper

monitoring and verification of the electrical switchgears in compliance with the safety

regulations is carried out.

23

2. The robustness of the overhead H.T/L.T lines in terms of current rating and mechanical

strength under the certain environment condition which should be maintained and verified

by licensee to avoid unwanted mishaps according to Regulation12.

3. As specified in Regulation13, the licensee shall take all precautionary steps to ensure the

safety of supply lines, wires fitting and apparatus under his control. Routine and

Preventive maintenance of HT/LT networks should be carried out to avoid electrical

accident at such installations having larger size and volume.

4. A suitable earthed terminal in an accessible position at or near the point of

commencement of supply shall be provided by the licensee at the consumer’s premises

for the consumer’s use as per Regulation16 for single phase consumers. Body of

consumer’s appliances connected with such earthed terminal can prevent electrocution if

leakage of current in equipment body takes place.

5. The owner of the building shall ensure that they are inaccessible where bare conductors

are used and provide switches in readily accessible position for rendering them dead

whenever necessary as per Regulation 17 and take such other safety measures as are

specified in the relevant Indian Standards.

6. The owner of every installation of voltage exceeding 250V shall affix permanently in a

conspicuous position a danger notice in Hindi or English and the local language of the

District, with a sign of skull and bones of a design as per IS -2551 on- every motor,

generator, transformer and other electrical plant and equipment together with apparatus

used for controlling or regulating the same; all supports of overhead lines of voltage

exceeding 650V which can be easily climbed upon without the aid of ladder or special

appliances; luminous tube sign requiring supply, X-ray and similar high frequency

installations of voltage exceeding 650V but not exceeding 33kV, as provided in

Regulation 18.

7. Violation of regulation regarding mandatory utilization of safety gears like hand gloves,

rubber shoes, insulated ladders or ladder van, safety belt, earthing device, helmet, line

tester, test lamps by the personnel engaged in the electrical work or the contractor or the

employees of the licensee may lead to electrical mishaps. Mandatory Practice of using

24

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as per Regulation 19 helps protecting a person in an

adverse situation while working on live or dead electrical installation.

8. Every person owning a vehicle, traveling crane, or the like to which electricity is supplied

from an external source shall ensure that it is efficiently controlled by a suitable switch

enabling all voltage to be cut off in one operation and, where such vehicle, traveling crane or

the like runs on metal rails, the owner shall ensure that the rails are electrically continuous

and earthed, as provided in Regulation 20.

9. Flexible cables shall not be used for portable or transportable motors, generators,

transformers, rectifiers, electric drills, electric sprayers, welding sets or any other portable

or transportable apparatus unless they are heavily insulated and adequately protected from

mechanical injury as provided in Regulation 21. Where the protection is by means of

metallic covering, the covering shall be in metallic connection with the frame of any such

apparatus and earthed. The cables shall be three core type and four core type for portable

and transportable apparatus working on single phase and three phase supply respectively

and the wire meant to be used for ground connection shall be easily identifiable.

10. Street boxes shall not contain any gas pipes and precautions shall be taken to prevent any

influx of water or gas as per Regulation 23.

11. The owner of every generating station, sub-station, junction-box or pillar in which there

are any circuits or apparatus, whether intended for operation at different voltages or at the

same voltage, shall ensure by means of indication of a permanent nature that the

respective circuits are readily distinguishable from one another, as per Regulation 24.

12. The owner of every installation including sub-station, double pole structure, four pole

structure or any other structure having more than one feed, shall ensure by means of

indication of permanent nature, that the installation is readily distinguishable from other

installations as per Regulation 25.

25

13. It is the responsibility of the owners that all circuits and apparatus shall so arrange that

there shall be no danger of any part thereof becoming accidentally charged to any voltage

beyond the limits of voltage for which they are intended, as per Regulation 26.

14. Fire buckets filled with clean dry sand and ready for immediate use for extinguishing

fires in addition to fire extinguishers suitable for dealing with fires, shall be

conspicuously marked and kept in all generating stations, enclosed sub-stations and

switching-stations in convenient location as per Regulation 27.

15. To ensure electrical safety it is necessary that instructions, in English or Hindi and the

local language of the District and where Hindi is the local language, in English and Hindi

for the resuscitation of persons suffering from electric shock, shall be affixed in a

conspicuous place in every generating station, enclosed sub-station, enclosed switching

station, mines and in every factory in which electricity is used and in such other premises

where electricity is used as per Regulation 28.

16. To enhance electrical safety it shall be ensure that no electrical installation work,

including additions, alterations, repairs and adjustments to existing installations, except

such replacement of lamps; fans, fuses, switches, domestic appliances of voltage not

exceeding 250V shall be carried out upon the premises of or on behalf of any consumer,

supplier, owner or occupier for the purpose of supply to such consumer, supplier, owner

or occupier except by an electrical contractor licensed in this behalf by the State

Government and under the direct supervision of a person holding a certificate of

competency and by a person holding a permit issued or recognized by the State

Government, as provided in Regulation 29.

17. Where an installation is already connected to the supply system of the supplier or trader,

every such installation shall be periodically inspected and tested by the Electrical

Inspector as per Regulation 30, so that the defective installations can be identified and the

mishaps or electrical accidents shall be avoided.

26

18. It is necessary to obtain prior permission of the Electrical Inspector for the generating

units having capacity exceeds 10kVA as per Regulation 32 to ensure electrical safety.

19. The supplier shall not connect with his works the installation or apparatus on the premises

of any applicant for supply unless he is reasonably satisfied that the connection will not at

the time of making the connection cause a leakage from that installation or apparatus of a

magnitude detrimental to safety as per Regulation 33.

20. If there is leakage in the system of a consumer which is likely to affect injuriously the use

of electricity by the supplier or by other persons, or which is likely to cause danger, the

supplier shall discontinue the supply of electricity to the installation as per Regulation 34

and do not commence or recommence the supply until the defects are not rectified to

avoid the accidents.

21. It is necessary to complied with all the conditions delimited in as per Regulation 35 to

enhance the electrical safety when the electricity is supplied, transformed, converted,

inverted or used or continued to be supplied, transformed, converted, inverted or used.

22. The supply of electricity shall not be commenced or recommenced in multi-storied

buildings without the approval in writing of the Electrical Inspector as provided in

Regulation-36. The supplier or owner of the installation shall provide at the point of

commencement of supply; a suitable isolating device with cut-out or breaker to operate

on all phases except neutral in the 3-phase, 4-wire circuit and fixed in a conspicuous

position at not more than 1.70 meters above the ground so as to completely isolate the

supply to the building in case of emergency. The owner or occupier of a multi-storied

building shall ensure that electrical installations and works inside the building are carried

out and maintained in such a manner as to prevent danger due to shock, and fire hazards,

and the installation is carried out in accordance with the relevant codes of practice. No

other service pipes and cables shall be taken along the ducts provided for laying power

cables and all ducts provided for power cables and other services shall be provided with

fire barrier at each floor crossing.

27

23. The supply of electricity to every electrical installation other than voltage not exceeding

250 V below 2 kW and those installations of voltage not exceeding 250 V which do not

attract provisions of section 54 of the Act, shall be controlled by an earth leakage

protective device so as to disconnect the supply instantly on the occurrence of earth fault

or leakage of current as per Regulation 42.

24. All the electrical installations of above notified voltage are required to be inspected by the

Electrical Inspector before commencement of supply or recommencement after shutdown

for six months and above as per Regulations 43 to ensure electrical safety.

25. The owner shall ensure that isolators and the controlling circuit breakers shall be

interlocked so that the isolators cannot be operated unless the corresponding breaker is in

open position. Necessary interlocks shall be provided as per Regulation 45.

26. Clearance from buildings of lines of voltage and service lines not exceeding 650 volts

shall be maintained as per Regulation 60.

27. Clearances from buildings of lines of voltage exceeding 650 volts shall be maintained as

per Regulation 61.

28. In urban area and especially near slum area it is mostly seen that EHT/H.T/L.T lines are

in violation of the horizontal/vertical clearances due to nearby illegal construction. In

these cases the DISCOMs should take proactive actions as per Regulation 63 which will

definitely resolve the safety problem and reduce the electrical mishaps or accident cases.

29. No rods, pipes or similar materials shall be taken below, or in the vicinity of, any bare

overhead conductors or lines if these contravene the provisions of regulations 60 and 61

unless such materials" are transported under the direct supervision of a person designated

in this behalf by the owner of such overhead conductors or lines. No rods, pipes or other

similar materials shall be brought within the flash over distance of bare live conductors or

lines, as per Regulation 64.

28

30. Where an overhead line crosses or is in proximity to any telecommunication line,; the

owner of either the overhead line or the telecommunication line, whoever lays his line

later, shall arrange to provide for protective devices or .guarding arrangement as per

Regulation 69.

31. No service-line of tapping shall be taken off an overhead line except at a point of support

and the number of tapping per conductor shall not be more than four in case of

connections at voltage not exceeding 650 V as per Regulation 71.

32. The owner of every overhead line, sub-station or generating station which is exposed to

lightning shall adopt efficient means for diverting to earth any electrical surges due to

lightning which may result into injuries as per Regulation 74.

4.3 Additional Measures Recommended by the Electrical Inspectorate

It is learnt from the investigation of the electrical accidents that many elements are

associated with any mishaps or accidents, few of them are enumerated below.

1. Many times, messy wiring is observed in wiring network over the L.T Poles meant for

supplying electricity to consumers. As experienced, numbers of causalities have occurred

due to such messy wiring on the pole. It is strongly recommended that the DISCOMs

should provide an LT bus bar/ Distribution Box on the pole to avoid such unsafe working

conditions.

2. In urban area having substantial Industrial growth and developed slum area, the local

dwellers make illegal construction which results into reduced vertical/horizontal

clearances from overhead lines leading to higher probability of electrical mishaps. Such

issues arise in the most of the major cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat etc.To

avoid such occurrences coordination between the local Authority and licensee is

necessary. Awareness campaign to mitigate such risk and converting the bare H.T/L.T

lines into UG cable or ABC line is very much desirable.

3. At many Places it has been observed that the road/street crossing with bare conductor

lines are either having unsafe vertical clearances or no power guarding. So many

instances have occurred of fatal accidents due to snapping of conductor, touching of live

29

bare wired line due to less clearance and also snapping of such a conductor on the cable

network passing below the line. This type of line crossing should be converted into UG

network or by providing power guarding in the rural area.

4. In the most of the EHT/HT line crossing it is observed that to get the desirable clearances

below the EHT line, the DISCOM usually invert the position of V-Cross arm carrying the

HT conductor, but in this case it has been noticed that there is no coordination observed

between GETCO and DISCOM which has lead the HT line remain with unsafe clearance.

So while working on such a HT lines numbers of contingencies has occurred leads to fatal

mishap. Such a crucial crossing which inadvertently leads to Electrical mishap shall be

rectified by UG cable or ABC conductor.

5. In Industrial zone of big town, it is normally seen that the distribution transformer

through which power is fed to different Industrial consumer are found overloaded due to

untimely increase of load by the consumers. Normally, 80% of the rated load shall be

catered by distribution transformer on continuous basis. However it is observed that the

transformers are usually overloaded to the extent of 125%. Moreover, sometimes the

maintenance staffs of DISCOM remove the Silica Breather of such a transformer and

place the cap over the conservator tank. So, when the transformer are operated in

overloaded condition and simultaneously bypass the silica breather leads blasting of the

transformer tank and eventually to mishaps due to hot burning oil. Every Engineer/Meter

Reader should notice the overloading of such a transformer during the site visit and it

should be looked and taken care of that the silica breather shall not be bypassed in any

case to avoid mishaps.

6. It is the normal tendency of DISCOM to lay bare wired LV neutral and also connecting or

clubbing the earthing of other DP. Due to unbalance three phase current, there are more

chances to flow more current through transformer neutral. Due to unhealthy-ness of

above mesh earthing with a bare earthing wire leads to leakage path and ultimately

electrical mishaps to either human or animal. In every transformer center the LV neutral

should be unanimously connected by insulated cable to an earthing plate and without any

contact with Double Pole Structures’ earthing will definitely reduce the accident level.

30

7. It is observed during the investigation that the consumers are habituated to use cheap and

non IS electrical gadgets like electrical iron, portable monoblock, taped wiring portable

welding machine, electrical fans, cutting & grinding machine, churning machine etc.

where there is huge possibility of electrical leakage and the metallic body of the gadgets

which lead to fatal accidents.In the above cases the awareness programme for the

consumer shall be launched from time to time and make them literate about using of

standard and IS make electrical gadgets only. DISCOMs/licensees must ensure that

RCCB/ELCB shall be installed by the consumer in their installations while releasing

connections.

8. In major industrial areas it has been observed that the DISCOMs/licensees have laid the

plinth mounted distribution transformer to give power to industrial consumer. While

installing transformer near to road, in the most of the cases due to backfilling or raising of

the road height by the local or notified area authority, the live bushing height has arrived

to an accessible unsafe height to a human passing nearby to the transformer center and

finally lead to numbers of electrical mishaps. It is the general observation of the Electrical

Inspector that the DISCOM never turn up and pay attention for raising the height of

bushing of the transformer centre which should be carried out by all the DISCOM as a

special drive.

9. In urban city or big town numbers of 132/66 KV lines are passing through the densely

populated area. Many of these lines are crossing city roads or most of the urban road

passes below EHT lines. As the development occurred most of the roads have been

elevated by the local authorities. During the last few years it is observed that numbers of

accident occurred below such lines due to reduction of EHT wires clearances due to road

raising. So, due attention is required in such cases where the coordination between the

local authority and GETCO is necessary in line with the provision of Regulation No: 63

to take the essential steps to overcome the situation and thereby ensuring public safety.

10. Generally, the owner/builder takes temporary power for the construction purpose. At such

sites the wiring laid by the workers like carpenters, plumbers are of temporary nature and

comprising flexible wire with number of joints or unsafe joints. Electrical gadgets used

by them are found of inferior quality, without earth terminal and leakage protection. So

many causalities occur during the year at such construction site which is alarming. So, it

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is the basic duty of the DISCOMs/licensee that they should not release any such

temporary connection without ELCB/RCCB, which may definitely reduce the numbers of

fatal and nonfatal accidents in such locations.

11. Many accidents occurred to the DISCOMs’/licensees’ employees like lineman, helper,

line inspector etc. In the most of the cases it is observed that the line staff works on the

line without taking line clear permission and simply by cutting sectional switch or

removing section DO fuses. Such unsafe work practice leads to many causality. So, it is

essential that safe work practice shall be implemented and all the work shall be carried

out under the supervision of DE/JE or qualified person. Safety awareness programmes,

and training for safe usage of safety gazettes will not only improve the work culture but

also reduce the mishaps/accidents occurred to departmental personal.

12. It has been noticed in many cases that DISCOMs entrust the installation work to the

persons who do not holding electrical contractor license or competency certificate. There

are all possibilities that the person who works on the distribution network without

competency may lack in safety awareness and which lead to safety hazards or mishaps.

So, such practice shall be immediately stopped.

13. The miscommunication between the line staff working on live electrical installation and

the switch board operator sitting in the substation by use of mobile phone has led to many

unwanted occurrences. So, proper training shall be imparted to the line staff by

DISCOMs for the purpose to minimize the accident level.

14. During the visit of VVIP like Hon. PM/CM or the programme of mass gathering, the

DISCOMs are having routine practice to erect a temporary DODP and transformer for the

purpose of specific event or programme. In such cases, only DO fuse is provided for the

transformer and the transformer is controlled by the substation end breaker only. This

practice shall be immediately stopped and CSS (Compact Sub Station with H.T/LT

breaker) shall invariably be erected for the power supply for VIP or important events

where mass gathering of people taken place.

15. In urban and rural area, numbers of private cables in relation to dish cables, data cables,

telephone wires etc. are trespassed over or below the DISCOMs’/licensees’ network

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which endanger the electrical safety.Hence proactive actions shall be initiated on priority

basis to curb such violations which are responsible for the undesirable incidence or

mishaps.

Following are the few of the many causes for the accidents in the transmission systems.

• Inadequate clearance between overhead conductors and ground or buildings.

• Digging near the transmission lines support poles/towers.

• Snapping of overhead bare conductors.

• Improper earthing of the transmission lines.

• Breakage of the transmission line supports, insulators/wires either due to

substandard quality or improper erection work.

4.3.1 Measures to Reduce Accidents in Transmission System

• Only appointed persons shall be allowed to carry out operation and maintenance activities

in substation or transmission lines.

• Adequate clearance shall be maintained between the overhead conductors and ground as

well as buildings as provided in the CEA Safety Regulations, 2010.

• All operation and maintenance activities shall be carried out under the control of engineer

in charge of substation or transmission line.

• Line clear permit (LCP) shall be approved by the substation engineer in charge for

carrying out maintenance or any other work.

• All operation including isolation and earthing of equipments shall be carried out in

presence of engineering charge.

• Use of PPE (Personnel Protective Equipments) shall be ensured during the operation and

maintenance works on the transmission network.

• Due precautions shall be required to be taken while Hot (live) work or vessel entry to

prevent casualty and to control fire hazards.

• Adequate fire protection system (NIFPS etc.) shall be provided in every substation.

• Adequate precautions shall be taken while handling of long objects like ladder etc in the

substation area or near to the transmission lines.

• Where overhead 132/66 KV lines are passing through the densely populated area

especially in urban area shall invariably make underground due to enormous

encroachments near the transmission lines. It will not only enhance the electrical safety

but also reduce many electrical accidents and loss of human lives.

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4.3.2 Measures to Reduce Accidents in Distribution System

• Line crossing must be insulated with AB Cable. Where two lines are crossing each other

than before starting any work both lines shall be connected with earth switch after taking

the line clear permit.

• Numerical protective relays with broken conductor detection feature shall be provided for

HT feeders emanating from sub-stations so that if load side line is broken, the relay

commands to disconnect the power.

• Controlling equipment like standard DO fuse and AB switch must be provided on HT

side of distribution transformers.

• Distribution transformers protection like Bucholz relay, oil level indicator and

temperature indicator must be provided for distribution transformers.

• Adequate fencing preferably made up of non-conducting material shall be provided

surrounding all the transformer centres of the DISCOMs.

• It shall be ensured by the official of the DISCOMs that Test Report given by authorized

contractor for the purpose of industrial, residential and agricultural connection contains

details of the ELCB/RCCB installed and such details shall invariably be verified by the

concern officials of the DISCOMs.

• For proper co-ordination between all utilities, a co-ordination committee of local

distribution company, local authorities, R & B, highway authority and gas agency etc.

shall be formed. The committee shall meet frequently and identify potential areas of

hazards and take due care to resolve them.

• As we all know the bare conductor of the overhead lines are major cause of the concern

for safety especially in city and urban area. The scheme of conversion of overhead HT

line to underground cable/ABC cable shall be planned in urban or densely populated area.

• Adequate horizontal and vertical clearance from the overhead lines shall be maintained as

per the Rules by the consumer as well as by the distribution companies. Awareness

campaign shall be organised to educate the public regarding the hazards associated with

unsafe clearances through print and electronic media. It is prime responsibility of the

DISCOMs to edify the people and identify unsafe locations near to electrical lines. If the

clearances are maintained as per the Rules, the power connection to such location shall be

refrained so that casualties associated can be evaded.

• DISCOMs provide temporary power connection to such construction site. Sometimes

fatal and non-fatal accidents are occurred to daily wages civil workers who don’t know

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about the significance of electrical safety because most of them are illiterate. They use

single phase water pumps, cutting machines, steel rods, makes temporary structure near

live service lines. Guiding them about simple safety rules can save many lives of such

civil workers. DISCOMs shall ensure that supervisor of authorized electrical contractor

shall remain present at site all time during work.

• It is observed particularly in the rural area that LT distribution box/ live parts are open at

transformer centre. So, distribution box with adequate capacity of MCCB must be

provided on LT side of the transformer center.

• Sometimes, stay insulator in stay wire is provided above the live parts of the 11kV

transformer center instead of below the live parts.The purpose of safety is not served if

the stay insulator is not adequately provided. Many mishaps have taken place on account

of this lacuna. Therefore, stay insulators in the stay wire shall be provided below the level

of the DO fuse/ Gang Switch/ live Jumpers or any other live parts of the lines or

transformer centres.

• In rural or agricultural area or where line is crossing to cart road, clearance of the lowest

conductor of the line above ground must be maintained or ABC cable shall be provided

on road crossing.

• In case of HT/HT or LT/LT or HT/LT line crossing, 9 m to 12 steel girder poles shall be

used to maintain double crossing distance as per Regulation and one of the lines must

have an ABC Cables.

• Earthing pit results of Transformer Centre neutral and body earthing shall be taken

periodically and maintained as per the Regulations.

• Criteria for getting the electrical contracting work shall be made stringent so that quality

persons can enter in the field of the electricity related work. As majority of non-fatal

accidents are occurred to the contractor’s person in the DISCOMs network while working

on the line or network.

• Use of the safety Gadgets (helmet, safety shoes, hand gloves, goggles, ladder or ladder

van and safety belt, line tester etc.) shall be made mandatory for the persons working on

the DISCOMs networks. Majority of the Non-fatal electrical accidents are occurred to the

persons of the electrical contractors are due to this reason. DISCOMs should provide such

safety equipments to every associated person. Penal clause shall be added in the terms

and conditions of the contract entrusted to electrical contractor for mishaps occurred due

to non-use of the safety gazettes’.

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• Every sub division/ division of the DISCOMs shall identify minimum 03 accidents of the

serious nature and occurred due to lacunae on part of individuals. Penal actions shall be

initiated against the persons concerned in consultation with the legal experts. This will

make huge impact on the mindset of the individuals and subsequently it will help in the

reduction of the accidents.

• As majority animal accidents are occurred in the network of the DISCOMs, distribution

network of the DISCOMs shall be made safer by practicing stringent preventive

maintenance norms or parameters. A separate team shall be constituted in each sub

division office for checking of the transformer centres and overhead lines of the

DISCOMs to verify safety parameters; we may also take help of external agency for

verification and sample checking of the safety parameters.

• When any electrical accident took place in any premises power shall be disconnected

immediately. The power shall not be restored until the incidence is investigated in depth

and the cause of the accident is removed or rectified. Every incidence of the electrical

mishaps either to the person of the DISCOMs or outsider shall be intimated to the

concern Electrical Inspector invariably within 24 hours of the knowledge of the mishaps.

• Policy shall be framed for awareness program for general public as well as employee of

DISCOM/Private Premises.

• HT bushing height from ground shall be maintained as per Regulations for different

voltage level of power transformers,

• Danger notice of appropriate voltage level shall be affixed on installation of DISCOMs.

• Insulating cap or tape shall be provided on HT/LT bushing of transformer centre and

insulated jumpers shall be used. Many mishaps are taken place to the wild animals like

leopard etc. due to live open stud of the transformer and open bare wires used for

jumpers, as wild animals can jump and easily approach to the jumper or live parts of the

transformer centres.

• Lighting arrester shall be provided on transformer centre and it shall be adequately

earthed.

• Adequate capacity of MCCB or LT circuit breaker shall be used in LT distribution box of

transformer centre instead of fuse or wire link.

• Guarding wire shall be provided under HT and LT line at the location where the line

crosses with road, river and bridge.

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• Feeder name shall be written on each pole of the lines and when two feeders’ crosses

each other caution notice for junction of two supplies shall be affixed at that crossing

pole, guarding shall be provided between two feeder crossings.

• Periodical oil filtration, quality-quantity of Oil and earth resistant checking shall be done

and record thereof shall be maintained.

• Electrical maintenance shall be carried out in presence of electrical supervisor or

authorised person and proper method of maintenance shall be adopted.

• Electrical layout drawing, SLD and safety instructions shall be provided at every RMU.

• Safe vertical and horizontal clearances shall be maintained as per Regulation from

overhead lines to buildings.

• While the construction work carried out near overhead line due care of the overhead lines

shall be taken and it shall be ensured that no conductor of the line shall damaged.

• Newly designed Silicon Rubber Insulator (also known as SRI) Pin Top leads to snapping

of conductor and may cause accidents. Pin Top of SRI is made up of metal of SG Iron

and Conductor is Aluminium. So bimetal corrosion will take place which will reduce

tensile strength of conductor. Some insulators are made up with small diameter pin top

which is very dangerous. Design of SRI Pin Top shall be standardized in line with the IS

of the Ceramic Insulator.

• Old LT Line passing through AG field with more span causes touching of conductor with

each other which causes snapping of conductor. Survey of such line shall be done by

DISCOM and corrective action is to be taken.

• Proper stringing shall be done for loose overhead HT & LT lines.

• Line separator should be provided on overhead HT & LT lines.

• Avoiding overhead HT and LT lines on the same poles.

• Avoiding long span of overhead HT/LT in case of ABC conductors. Provide proper

mechanical support to avoid pressure on HT/LTABC insulation.

• Reason for non-tripping of 11 kV Breaker in case of 11 kV Broken conductor shall be

explored.

• Erection of Parallel feeders shall be avoided.

• Village Transformer Centre of JGY feeder shall be shifted at appropriate place so that the

animals can be saved from electrocution by coming in contact with Transformer Centre

Structure.

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• Earth terminal shall be provided to each consumer by the DISCOMs as per the

Regulation.

• If the conductor of the feeder with LSTC is broken and touch to ground, experience

shows that the feeder will not trip, i.e. E/F protection does not operate due to this

accident, design of LSRC is required to change (In design, avoid direct phase Earthing).

• In DISCOM’s JGY feeder CT’s of proper capacity shall be installed (CT of 50/100 Amp.

instead of 150/300 Amp). Normally JGY feeders load is not more than 45 Amp. If

connected CT is on 150Amp than protection system does not work efficiently).

• Many accidents are occurred due to open wire or joints in wires of Local Authority street

lights. Compulsory E/F protection shall be provided in control unit of every street light.

• To Rise Step potential near village transformer centre (TC), A Layer of Metal/Gravel

shall be provide around TC where possibilities of Animals passing near TC is more to

avoid animal fatal accidents.

• It is observed that most of the work is carried out without DISCOMs supervision; many

times DISCOMs’ people give LC (Take LC on behalf of contractor) to contractor without

conformation of location/feeder. Such practice shall be avoided to reduce accidents.

• Proper and strict implementation of queries / suggestions issued/made by the Electrical

Inspectorate shall be carried out.

• Old and dilapidated materials shall not be used in the system of DISCOM to avoid

electrical accident.

• Preventive maintenance as well as routine maintenance shall be performed for lines and

transformer centres.

• Periodical measurements earthing results for transformer and lines shall be taken and

records thereof shall be maintained.

• In case of plinth mounted transformer centres of DISCOM adequate fencing preferably

made up of non-conducting material shall be provided and in case of pole mounted

transformer centres anti-climbing devices shall be provided.

• If two lines crossing to each other then line clear permit of both the lines shall be taken at

the time of maintenance work.

• Feeder marking shall be made necessary at transformer centre so that at time of

maintenance the risk of identification of wrong feeder can be avoided.

• Porcelain type pin insulation deteriorates quickly in coastal area so specially designed

insulators shall be used for longer life and less risk of pin fault/broken line accidents.

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• Provide anti climbing device at every 11 kV feeder pole.

• All the poles, conductor and other line materials shall be replaced after every third year in

the coastal area.

• Tree cutting, route line patrolling, pre-monsoon/frequent maintenance shall be carried out

by DISCOM as per schedule.

• Lacking of the staff at sub division level of DISCOMs jeopardize the electrical safety

hence adequate supervisory manpower shall be deployed at each sub division office for

safer system and working.

• One specific design is prevalent for poles erected by DISCOMs. There is a need to update

a design for V-cross arms or angle. LT wire detached from insulator comes in contact

with earthing wire bound on pole. Stray animals that accidently come in contact with this

earthing wire dies due to electric shock. The very purpose of earthing is safety but

ultimately it proven fatal. If V-cross arm or angle made up of non-conducting composite

material is used especially in the lines located in interior places or farms. It can reduce

accidents.

4.3.3 Measures to Reduce Accidents in Industrial Premises

In industries, lacking of safety awareness, unsafe work practice, non-use of safety gazettes

and unsafe wiring is a major cause for fatal as well as non-fatal accidents.Absence of

protective equipments and lacking of earthings is also cause of concerns. To enhance

electrical safety in industrial installations;

• All the electrifications must be carried out according to the BIS standards.

• All the electrifications must be complied with NEC and CEA Safety Regulations.

• All the electrifications must be designed properly, accurately and safe.

• All the specifications must be according to the technical requirements.

• All the used material must be ISI marked where is applicable.

• All the electrification work must be supervised by the authorized persons only.

• All the schemes must be compulsory approved by the Electrical Inspectorate.

• Safety instructions and safety procedure and shock treatment chart shall be displayed at

conspicuous place.

• Adequate capacity of ELCB/RCCB shall be provided to each circuit / sub circuit.

• Two separate and distinct earthings shall be provided to every metallic part of the

electrical equipments.

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Following safe work practices shall be engaged to enhance electrical safety:

• Contact with the energized electrical circuits shall be avoided.

• Treat all electrical devices as if they are live or energized.

• Disconnect the power source before repairing or servicing.

• Use only tools and equipments with non-conducting handles when working on electric

devices.

• Never use metallic pencils or rulers, or wear rings or metal watchbands when working

with electrical equipments.

• When it is necessary to handle equipments that is plugged in, be sure hands are dry and

when possible, wear insulated gloves, protective clothes and shoes with insulated soles.

• If an individual comes in contact with live electrical conductor, do not touch equipment,

cord or person.

• Drain capacitors before working near them and keep the short circuit on terminals during

the work to prevent electrical shock.

• Enclosed all live exposed parts so that no one can accidently come into contact with

them.

• Never handle electrical equipments when hands, feet or body are wet or when standing on

a wet floor.

• Do not store highly inflammable liquids near electrical equipments.

• Do not wear loose clothing or ties near electrical equipments.

• Records of the safety inspection and preventive maintenance shall be maintained and

updated regularly in the register.

• If generating set is installed for standby source of power then due precautions shall be

taken for reverse power protection and all legal procedure shall be complied.

Following practices shall be avoided to enhance electrical safety:

• Use of damaged wire, damage insulation, broken switches and plug, damaged tools and

equipments etc shall be avoided.

• Inadequate capacity of the circuit breaker or switch for load,

• Overloading of the circuit or using improper extension cords for load.

• Entrusting operation and maintenance work to electrical employee without proper

technical and safety training.

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4.3.4 Measures to Reduce Accidents in Residential Premises:

In residential premises electrical accidents are occurred mainly due to leakage of the current,

inadequate clearance of building from the overhead line conductors, damaged appliances and

unsafe work practice. To enhance electrical safety in residential premises;

• The electrification work shall be entrusted to qualified and licensed electrical contractor

only.

• Adequate capacity of MCB or ELCB/RCCB shall be provided in the installation.

• Efficient earthing shall be provided and it shall be extended to every electrical

equipments.

• Poor quality and undersize wire shall not be used.

• Three pin plug top shall be used for all electrical appliances and earthing connection shall be

ensured.

• Joints shall be avoided in the wiring and if necessary then shall be insulated with

insulating tap.

• Electrical water heater, air conditioner, water pump, iron, washing machine etc shall be

properly earthed and supply shall be given through RCCB/ELCB only.

• In residential electrical installations, water pump or any other appliances should never be

connected with male-female adopter.

• If you are working on any receptacle at your home then always turn off the mains. It is

also a good idea to put up a sign on the service panel so that nobody turns the main switch

ON by accident.

4.3.5 General Measures to Reduce Electrical Accidents

• All the electrical material used must be ISI marked where is applicable.

• Use of the safety Gadgets is mandatory while working with electricity. These safety

instruments are helmet, safety shoes, hand gloves, goggles, ladder and safety belt, line

tester etc.

• Illegal connection should be prevented from live parts.

• Any type of steel wires should not be tied with overhead line pole for drying clothes or

any other purpose,

• Storage of flammable material near electric panel, circuit breaker and switch room,

working in wet humid condition leads to electrical accidents.

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• All electrical work shall be carried out under the direct supervision of the supervisor of

licensed electrical contractor so that mishaps can be avoided.

• Electrical safety campaign shall be done through advertisement for public awareness.

• Always turn off the device before unplugging it or plugging it in or switching on its

circuit breaker.

• Do not work on appliances or equipment that contains capacitors unless you know to

discharge them safely.

• Avoid water at all times when working with electricity. Never touch or try repairing any

electrical equipment or circuits with wet hands. It increases the conductivity of electric

current.

• Never use equipment with frayed cords, damaged insulation or broken plugs.

• Always use insulated tools while working.

• Electrical hazards include exposed energized parts and unguarded electrical equipment

which may become energized unexpectedly. Such equipment always carries warning

signs like “Shock Risk”. Always be observant of such signs and follow the safety rules

established by the electrical code followed by the country you’re in.

• Always use appropriate insulated rubber gloves and goggles while working on any branch

circuit or any other electrical circuit.

• Never try repairing energized equipment. Always check that it is de-energized first by

using a tester. When an electric tester touches a live or hot wire, the bulb inside the tester

lights up showing that an electrical current is flowing through the respective wire. Check

all the wires, the outer metallic covering of the service panel and any other hanging wires

with an electrical tester before proceeding with your work.

• Never use an aluminum or steel ladder if you are working on any receptacle at height in

your home. An electrical surge will ground you and the whole electric current will pass

through your body. Use a bamboo, wooden or a fiberglass ladder instead.

• Know the wire code of your country.

• Always check all your GFCI’s once a month. A GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter)

is a RCD (Residual Current Device). They have become very common in modern homes,

especially damp areas like the bathroom and kitchen, as they help avoid electrical shock

hazards. It is designed to disconnect quickly enough to avoid any injury caused by over

current or short circuit faults.

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• Always use a circuit breaker or fuse with the appropriate current rating. Circuit breakers

and fuses are protection devices that automatically disconnect the live wire when a

condition of short circuit or over current occurs. The selection of the appropriate fuse or

circuit breaker is essential. Normally for protection against short circuits a fuse rated of

150% of the normal circuit current is selected. In the case of a circuit with 10 amperes of

current, a 15 ampere fuse will protect against direct short circuits whereas a 9.5 amperes

fuse will blow out.

• Working outside with underground cabling can be dangerous. The damp soil around the

cable is a good conductor of electricity and ground faults are quite common in the case of

underground cabling. Using a spade to dig at the cable can damage the wiring easily so it

is better to dig at the cable by hand while wearing insulated gloves.

• Always put a cap on the hot/live wire while working on an electric board or service panel

as you could end up short circuiting the bare ends of the live wire with the neutral. The

cap insulates the copper ends of the cable thus preventing any kind of shock even if

touched mistakenly.

• Take care while removing a capacitor from a circuit. A capacitor stores energy and if it’s

not properly discharged when removed it can easily cause an electric shock. An easy way

to discharge low voltage capacitor is that after removal from the circuit is to put the tip of

two insulated screw drivers on the capacitor terminals. This will discharge it. For high

voltage ones a 12 Volts light bulb can be used. Connecting the bulb with the capacitor

will light up the bulb using up the last of the stored energy.

• Always take care while soldering your circuit boards. Wear goggles and keep yourself

away from the fumes. Keep the solder iron in its stand when not in use; it can get

extremely hot and can easily cause burns.

• Public especially children shall be made aware about dangers associated with power lines

and electrical networks by providing advertisements through electronic and print media.

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Annexures Annexure 1: Sample Case Studies based on detailed reasons for

mishaps/accidents and recommended corrective measures: Few sample cases have been outlined below, based on the site investigation by the Electrical

Inspector to aid the study and analysis.

1. Release of temporary connection by licensee to the owners who do not provide ELCB

and Earthing:

The DISCOMs/licensee releases temporary power for the period of six month to one year for

construction site. Electrical wiring in such sites is of purely temporary nature and so it

jeopardizes electrical safety in many ways. Sometimes the consumer use substandard

electrical gadgets which lead to human fatal and non-fatal accidents. During the course of

investigation it is observed that sometimes DISCOMs/Licensee do not verify whether the

ELCB and earthing are provided in the installation. DISCOMs rely upon the test report of the

electrical contractor and released the connection even though earthing/ELCB is not provided

which led to electrocution.

Case Study:

(i) On 26-06-2017 electrical fatal accident occurred to Shri Gordhanram Dayaram Gupta at

KLM infra saffire-E building, Vill: Paravt, Dist: Surat in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer,

DGVCL Godadhara sub division, where the labour person was working on bar cutting

machine, the leakage current spread out due to defective bar cutting machine which led to

human fatal mishap.

Another electrical fatal accident took place on 15-09-2017 to Shri Arvindbhai Hasubhai

Katara at old SUDA building, Surat in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Piplod

sub division while working on temp loose wiring.

In both the above cases the temporary installation for the construction purpose were found

without ELCB and Earthing.

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Corrective/Preventive Measures:

As a part of precaution, the DISCOM/Licensee should not release the temporary connection

for the construction purpose when the consumer has not taken due care to install the ELCB in

the installation & its wiring is found to be unsafe. See the Regulations: 13, 16, 33, 34, and

42.

2. Unauthorized extension from existing permanent connection:

Many casualties took place when the consumer has extended temporary wiring by

unauthorized manner for the purpose of fast food restaurants. Normally such type of

temporary installations is found in front of the existing LT connections. But it is surprising to

state that the DISCOM/licensee did not initiate any action against such installation which

leads to many casualties in Surat area.

Case Study:

(i) On 24-06-2017 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Shubham Ramratanji Prajapati at

Bansari nasta house, Sachin, Dist: Surat in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL

Sachin (rural) sub division.

(ii) On 01-07-2017 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Vinod Balkrishna Shetti at Bhagwan

Mahavir college campus, Vesu, Surat in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Althan

sub division.

Another electrical fatal accident occurred on 04-03-2018 to (a) Shri Ganesh Logarji Rawat

(b) Shri Rajmal Pruthvi Raj (c) Shri Shivdas ShyamdasVaishnav while shifting pavbhaji lorry

at Kailash Residency, Dindoli in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Dindoli sub

division.

In the above three accident cases total five numbers of human causalities occurred but the

similarity and the common factor in the all above cases is that the temporary power supply

was extended from the existing nearby LT/HT consumer for the purpose of snacks lorry /food

zone. In the all above cases the wiring was loose, with tapped flexible wire & without ELCB

which resulted into electrical mishap.

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Corrective/Preventive Measures:

In most of the urban area it is usually observed that owner of the permanent connection

extends the temporary wiring either for his own use or to lease it to any other person mostly

for the operation of the cold drinks center, pan center or snack lorry. So, wherever such type

of temporary electrical installation are observed it should be immediately removed or isolated

because in the most of the cases they do not use the ELCB or proper earthing in the wiring.

Such installations are of temporary nature with flexible wiring.

3. No power guarding to the road crossing

Recently couple of electrical mishap occurred in the Surat area either due to conductor

snapping or contact with the live wire while passing below the road crossing wire. Even in

the big town or city across the road or street the licensee failed to provide such a power

guarding which is very dangerous. Also the vertical clearances of HT wires are not

maintained as per Regulation.

Case Study:

(i) On 14-04-2017 electrical mishap occurred to Kum. Rupaliben Rameshbhai Samudre at

Velda, Dist: Tapi in the jurisdiction of the Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Nizar sub division. The

person who sitting over the cabin of the tempo came near the induction zone of the 11KV line

and So, leakage current flow through the metallic body of Tempo. At the same time the

victim who was in contact with the metallic part of tempo got electrocuted.

Another electrical fatal accident happened on 27-06-2017 to Shri Rajubhai Sukhabhai Patel at

Sultanabad in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Piplod sub division where

overhead conductor of HT line snapped from the load side.

In the above two cases it is observed that no power guarding has been provided by the

DISCOM for the road crossing location which has resulted into electrical mishap.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

As provided in the Regulation: 69, guarding arrangement shall be provided where overhead

lines crosses a road or street or another line to avoid falling of line conductor on the road or

to avoid live contact with the bare line conductors while sitting on the top of the vehicle.

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Replacing the bare conductor of one line by underground cable may also resolve such

problems.

4. Overloading of distribution transformer

Sometimes, it is observed that the DISCOMs have not taken any action even though the

overloading of the distribution transformer was 20% higher than its rated capacity which

leads to transformer blasting and ultimately the electrical mishap.

Case Study:

On 18-07-2017 electrical mishap occurred to (i) Shri Samirbhai Nisarbhai Memon (ii) Shri

Bilalbhai Nisarbhai Memon at Plot no.56, GIDC, Pandesara, Surat in the jurisdiction of

Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Pandesara sub division. It was found that the consumers were

using power more than the contract demand resulting into overloading of 100KVA

distribution transformer. The overloaded transformer gets blasted and hot oil splashing on the

victim body resulted into electrical mishap.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

Whenever the meter reader of DISCOMs visits consumer’s premises for the monthly reading,

he notes the maximum demand for the billing purpose. Overloading of distribution

transformers can be easily traced by evaluating such data and if such distribution transformer

is replaced by the higher capacity transformer then we can save many lives of the innocent

persons.

In many cases it is observed that the distribution transformers of the DISCOMs have no oil

conservator tank and silica breather which usually results into pressurization of tank. Such

practices shall be immediately stopped to enhance safety.

5. Lack of Technical supervision and safety gadgets:

Many electrical accidents or mishaps have taken place due to lack of supervision or absence

of proper guide line to be given by DE/JE to the line staff. Sometimes the line staffs avoid

usage of the safety gadgets like hand gloves, safety belt, ladders, safety shoes etc., during the

work. Such practice leads to many mishaps and casualties.

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Case Study:

(i) On 01-07-2017 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Girishbhai Uttambhai Mehta at Vill:

Andhatri, Tal: Mahuva, Surat in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Mahuva sub

division.

In this case the lineman who was working on LT line pole did not recognized the HT line

passing above the line. No power guarding was present there between the two lines. So, the

lineman directly came in contact with live conductors of the HT lines and got electrocuted.

(ii) On 02-02-2017 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Hinet Virjibhai Gamit at Plot No.81,

Vill: Pali, Surat in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Sachin (Rural) sub division.

(iii) On 03-08-2018 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Jitesh Sumanbhai Patel at Bolward

club, Pal, Suart in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Pal sub division.

In the above case no (ii) & (iii) it has been observed that either the use of improper size of

safety gear or devoid of safety gear resulted into casualty.

(iv) On 24-12-2014 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Kiranbhai Vanad at Vill: Kathlal, Tal:

Kathlal, Kheda in the jurisdiction of MGVCL sub division.

In this case the victim was climbed on the pole of 11KV Anar feeder of which the

Line Clear Permit (LCP) was not taken while the LCP was taken for another 11KV Toran

feeder. Lacunae on part of supervisory staff of the DISCOM resulted into mishaps.

(v) On 26-03-2018 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Jayeshbhai Shambhubhai Mandviya at

Vill: Barwala, Tal: Bheshan, Dist: Junagadh in the jurisdiction of PGVCL subdivision.

In this case, the work of transformer replacement for agriculture connection was carried out

by the electrical contractor while the Line Clear Permit (LCP) was taken for another feeder

by the contractor. Such mishaps happened due to the reason that the LCP was not taken by

authorized officer of PGVCL.

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Another electrical fatal accident happened on 23-06-2018 electrical mishap occurred to Shri

Vasant Kanjibhai Makwana at Vill; Haripura (Mewas), Tal: Kalwad, Dist: Jamnagar in the

jurisdiction of PGVCL sub Division.

In this case, the helper was repairing the transformer by climbing on transformer center

without taking Line Clear Permit (LCP). The victim had started the work just by removing

DO fuse only and while working on the transformer centre he came in direct contact with HT

side live jumper and got electrocuted. The victim had not utilized safety gadgets also while

the execution of the work.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

Work shall be carried out under the direct supervision of the engineer of the DISCOMs either

Junior Engineer or Deputy Engineer. Sometimes, the work of climbing on the transformer for

repairing or maintenance is entrusted to apprentice lineman, such practice shall be

immediately stopped.

6. Work entrusted by licensee to the person not holding the electrical contractor license

During the investigation of the accidents occurred to the person of the contractor at site, it

was observed many times that supervisor was unqualified or HT line work entrusted to the

person who does not hold electrical supervisor permit or contractor license.

Case Study:

On 22-03-2018 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Jagdishbhai Kantibhai Naika at vill;

Tadkuva, Tapi in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Vyara (Rural) sub division.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

DISCOMs shall always entrust the work order to qualified licensed electrical contractor only

& supervisor shall remain present invariably at site. See Regulation: 29.

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7. Miscommunication between DISCOMs& GETCO.

Case Study:

On 26-11-2017 electrical fatal accident occurred to Shri Dhanjibhai Amarbhai Vankar at

landmark Corporation, Shagunvilla, VIP Road, Althan in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer,

DGVCL Althan sub division.

During the investigation of electrical mishap it was observed that the line staffs has

communicated the wrong feeder name due to identical name of the feeder which led to

mishap.

In this case, it is observed that Line Clear Permit (LCP) for 11 KV Althan W/W feeder was

needed but the lineman typed in mobile 11KV W/W feeder instead of Althan W/W feeder

which is another feeder emanating from the same 66 KV Vesu Sub Station. Such accidents

can be avoided if proper training is given to the line staff.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

Standard procedure to take the Line Clear Permit (LCP) shall be adopted by the licensee and

DISCOMs shall impart training to the line staff while making communication on cell phone

without creation of confusion which led to such an unfortunate mishap.

8. Substandard coated wire (other than ABC)

Case Study:

On 25-01-2018 electrical fatal accident occurred to Shri Bipinbhai Narendrabhai Gamit at

Indraprashth Society, Vill: Panwadi, Tapi in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL

Vyara (Town) sub division.

Electrical mishap occurred to one labour that has raised metallic rod near the 11KV coated

wire line. During the investigation the coated wire was found deteriorated and damaged. The

insulation level of the coated wire was not sufficient for 11KV line conductor.

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Corrective/Preventive Measures:

It shall be ensured that the ABC conductor or the coated conductor used for overhead line

shall have sufficient dielectric strength and insulation level.

9. HT line within the reach out from window or balcony

During the investigation of the electrical accidents especially occurred in urban and dense

city it is observed that the DISCOM has failed to initiate the necessary rectification or

shifting of line or to be converted by UG cable lead to human fatalities while taking out any

metallic part, throwing water, shifting of material through balcony or window by the

consumer when HT line has been found passing very nearby or where the clearance are not

maintained as per the Regulations.

Case Study:

(i) On 24-08-2017 electrical Fatal Accident occurred to Shri Irfan Bismillah Pathan and Non-

Fatal accident to (i) Shri Javed Mukhtar Pathan (ii) Salim Raja Pathan at Ganesh Sheri,

Pramukhpark, Bhedwad, Udhana, Surat in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL

Udhana (Ind)-1 sub division.

(ii) On 19-01-2018 electrical fatal accident occurred to Shri Nazir Mubarak Ansari at Plot

No.48, Faizal Nagar, Unn in the jurisdiction of the Executive Engineer, GETCO Ichhapore

division.

(iii) On 16-07-2018 electrical fatal accident occurred to Shri Siddharth Sunilbhai Vagh at

Mafatnagar, Zupadpatti Awas, Udhana, Surat in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer,

DGVCL Udhana (Ind)-1 sub division.

Another electrical fatal accident occurred on 21-07-2018 to Shri Ramavtar Nageshwar

Gautam at Pramukhpark Park in the jurisdiction of Deputy Engineer, DGVCL Udhana (Ind)-

1 sub division.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

If adequate clearance is not maintained in case of bare conductor of the overhead line then it

should be either shifted to safe clearance or otherwise should be replaced by the underground

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cable or by ABC conductor. It is also equally important that power connection shall not be

released to such premises where the building is very near to the HT/LT line or safe clearance

are not maintained.

10. Co-ordination between GETCO & local authority

Case Study:

Three nos. of human fatal /non-fatal mishap occurred due to very less clearance of 132KV

line due to road height raised by the Surat Municipal Corporation in Bhestan Area. The

vertical clearance has reduced to unsafe level due to the elevated road in SMC area. Despite

of perusal by this office no any further action has been initiated by GETCO with SMC as per

the Regulation 63.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

Adequate ground clearance shall be maintained by the concern authority whenever overhead

EHT/HT/LT lines passing over to the road or street.

11. Vertical line clearance not maintain by the DISCOM

(i) On 27-06-2016 electrical fatal accident occurred to Shri Hasmukhgiri Zavergiri Gosai at

Hariyal, Tal & Dist: Kheda in the jurisdiction of MGVCL sub division.

(ii) On 14-04-2017 electrical fatal accident occurred to Shri Hitesh Kacharabhai Patel, at Vill:

Jadar, Tal: Idar & Dist: Sabarkatha in the jurisdiction of UGVCL sub division.

Another electrical fatal accident occurred on22-04-2017 to Shri Rajubhai Bhikhaji Rathod at

Goziyara, Tal: Gozariya, Dist: Mehsana in the jurisdiction of the UGVCL sub division.

In above cases the vertical line clearance of the 11KV HT conductor from ground was not

maintained by the DISCOM.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

Vertical line clearance of the conductor from ground shall be maintained to the safe level as

provided in the Safety Regulations.

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12. Lack of periodical maintenance of HT/LT lines & Poles of DISCOM.

(i) On 04-07-2018 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Fakruddinbhai Munirbhai Mansuri at

Jetpur, Dist: Rajkot in the jurisdiction of PGVCL sub division.

In this case telephone wire was erected below the HT line. During monsoon season 11 KV

HT pole was turned down due to heavy rain and wind. The live conductor of the HT line

came into direct contact with the telephone wire. The current of the HT line circulated to the

telephone line also. In such circumstances, the victim was holding the telephone instrument

in his hand while talking on the telephone, so this accident was occurred.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

HT/LT lines and poles of DISCOM shall be checked periodically and maintained properly.

13. Unauthorized construction carried out near /below HT/LT lines.

(i) On 04-09-2017 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Bhupatsinh Anjaji Solanki at:

Becharaji, Dist: Mehsana in the jurisdiction of UGVCL sub division.

In this case the building owner has constructed unauthorised new building near HT line

without implementing the provisions of the CEA Safety Regulations, 2010 for

horizontal/vertical clearances.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

Unauthorized construction shall be prevented near or below HT/LT lines.

14. Lack of periodical maintenance by GETCO in 66KV/132KV/220KV Sub Station:

(i) On 29-06-2017 electrical accident occurred to Shri Himmatlal Jivabhai Ambaliya at:

Raysan, Tal: Idar, Dist: Sabarkantha in the jurisdiction of GETCO division.

In this case when 66KV Ranasan S/S operator was racked out the 11KV breaker from panel

for Line Clear Permit (LCP) he got electrocution.

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Corrective/Preventive Measures:

Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO) should carry out proper maintenance of

all the Sub Station periodically.

15. Due to not providing ELCB & double earthing to domestic electrical equipment &

appliances in residential & commercial areas:

(i) On 25-09-2018 electrical mishap occurred to Shri Kasambhai Daudbhai Lakhaat:

Gadhakda, Dist: Jamnagar in the jurisdiction of PGVCL sub division.

In this case victim was directly come into contact with the live parts of starter, due to leakage

on starter cover and ELCB were not provided.

(ii) On 05-07-2018 electrical mishap occurred to Smt. Dayaben Prafulbhai Solanki at: Upleta

Dist: Rajkot in the jurisdiction of PGVCL sub division.

In this case the winding of the electrical motor was burnt. Adequate earthing is not provided

and ELCB was also not present in the installation. While inserting pipe in the water pump the

victim got electrocuted.

It has been observed that majority of the human fatal accident and non-fatal accidents are

occurred in domestic and industrial area are due to leakage of the current and absence of

earth leakage protective device in LT service network. Lack of adequate earthing is also

cause of the concern in the domestic electrical equipment and appliances.

Corrective/Preventive Measures:

Earth leakage protective device shall be provided in LT service network and double earthing

shall be provided to all domestic electrical equipment and appliances.

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Annexure 2: Data pertaining to Electrical Accidents in Gujarat State

Growth in Electrical Installations

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Transformer

Centres 524827 631790 736728 841666 1012859 1131259 1287977

HT/EHT 9379 10366 11164 12032 12814 13811 14409 AG 908327 991185 1073960 1184303 1289056 1395263 1458987 LT 250982 226690 238372 247118 257248 266000 226690

Growth in Residential/Commercial Installations

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Residential 9362611 9708153 10038148 10315525 10663750 10948875 11119950

Commercial 1245412 1155169 1172720 1225863 1285105 1355713 1423271

Installations versus Accidents

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Total

Installs. 11851581 12263258 12719210 13186186 13622574 14183757 14520467

Accidents 1367 1272 1351 1087 1153 1341 1267

Year-wise Data on Accidents

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Human Fatal 582 566 585 547 581 624 623

Human Non-Fatal 324 332 332 234 241 281 240 Animal Fatal 461 374 432 306 331 436 404

Human Fatal Accidents versus Ownership

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Generating Company 0 0 0 0 1

DISCOMs 268 241 257 259 296 Govt. Ind. Installation 0 0 1 10 0 Pvt. Ind. Installation 30 27 48 19 36

Other Govt.Installation 31 56 5 30 15 Other Pvt.Installation 256 223 270 306 275

Causes of Human Fatal Accidents

Conductor

Snap Accidental live contact

Neglect Safety Measures

Defective Installation

Lack of Maintenance

Unauth. Work Other

2013-14 27 144 81 109 78 96 50 2014-15 31 139 44 183 36 53 75 2015-16 19 169 65 126 31 61 110 2016-17 25 155 62 118 44 130 90 2017-18 38 120 100 106 46 121 92

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Human Non-Fatal Accidents versus Ownership

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Gen.Company 8 1 0 17 2

DISCOMS 278 217 220 224 215 Govt. Ind Installation 0 0 1 8 0 Pvt.Ind Installation 27 0 3 4 3

Other Govt Installation 4 2 7 2 4 Other Pvt.Installation 15 14 10 26 16

Causes of Human Non-Fatal Accidents

Conductor

snap Accidental live contact

Neglect Safety Measures

Defective Installation

Lack of Maintenance

Unauth. Work Other

2013-14 22 43 77 16 36 52 86 2014-15 11 19 72 13 12 24 83 2015-16 11 37 82 15 15 13 68 2016-17 15 55 87 14 19 43 48 2017-18 14 53 75 10 19 29 40

Animal Fatal Accidents versus Ownership

2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Gen.Company 0 0 0 8 0

DISCOMS 405 294 321 388 363 Govt. Ind. Installation 6 0 0 3 0

Pvt.Ind.Installation 6 0 1 0 0 Other Govt.Installation 7 4 4 17 31 Other Pvt.Installation 8 8 5 20 10

Causes of Animal Fatal Accidents

Conductor

snap Accidental live contact

Neglect Safety Measures

Defective Installation

Lack of Maintenance

Unauth. Work Other

2013-14 139 61 28 37 118 27 22 2014-15 93 65 9 14 100 4 7 2015-16 125 68 16 45 67 2 8 2016-17 152 69 23 22 145 14 11 2017-18 144 40 15 21 166 8 10

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Statistics of Electrical Accidents occurred in 2018-19

No Installation Human Fatal Accidents

Human Non-Fatal Accidents

Animal Fatal

Accidents

Animal Non-Fatal Accidents

Total

1 Installations of suppliers of Electricity including SEB’s/Licenses/Generating Companies

(a) Generating Station 2 2 0 0 4

(b) Transmission System (Lines, sub-stations, towers etc) 36 45 39 0 120

(c) Distribution system (Lines, sub-stations, poles, transformers etc)

201 160 285 0 646

2 Installation of Industrial consumers

(a) Owned by Govt./Semi Govt. Bodies/local authorities 2 0 1 0 3

(b) Owned by private companies 71 9 0 0 80

3 Installation of consumers other than industrial e.g. domestic/ agriculture/ commercial consumers etc.

(a) Owned by Govt/ Semi Govt. Bodies/Local authority 12 2 10 0 24

(b) Owned by private companies 34 5 6 0 45

(c) Persons(s) 227 8 7 0 242

TOTAL (Excluding suicides) 585 231 348 0 1164

Installation Data of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (as on 31-03-2019)

1 Total numbers of Consumers 15200000 2 Total numbers of Transformers 1451183 3 Total numbers of 11 kV Feeders 15569 4 Total length of HT Lines in CktkM 432952 5 Total length of LT Lines in CktkM 318139 6 Total numbers of Sub Station (33 kV to 400 kV) 1969 7 Total length of Transmission Lines in CktkM 63642