Mapping agricultural electrical connections avoids irregularities

Nizamābād:Telangana State Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGNPPDCL) has launched a program to map agricultural power connections, transformers and substations in Nizamabad circle. Officials are visiting each transformer in Nizamabad, Bodhan and Armoor divisions to streamline power consumption and address irregular connections.

According to TGNPDCL, there are 83,619 agriculture connections in Nizamabad district. Thanks to the free power supply, many farmers have installed pump sets in their fields. Some installed additional motors without official connections, bypassing the required daily fee of ₹1 per connection and a deposit of ₹5,700 for new installations. Others avoid the ₹360 annual fee, contributing to unauthorized logins.

As a result, frequent repair problems and accidental deaths occur when the supply is active. Through mapping, TGNPDCL aims to document every agricultural meter, transformer and substation to detect and prevent unauthorized connections. A senior engineer at TGNPDCL noted that some farmers were using multiple pumping sets under the same meter number. Once digitized, the cartographic data will help limit these irregularities. However, officials reported pressure from local leaders, such as that of Ankapur village, to drop the ₹360 annual fee for agricultural connections.

There are 47,000 transformers spread across 216 substations in Nizamabad, Bodhan and Armoor divisions. The region grows rice, turmeric, corn, soybeans and vegetables on large tracts of land, relying on pump sets for irrigation. Armoor division is a terminal area of ​​the Nizamsagar project and mainly depends on the Laxmi canal of the Sriramsagar project for water supply.