Hudhud Lessons Put To Test As Arnab Batters Vizag

Visakhapatnam: Twelve years after Cyclone Hudhud exposed the vulnerability of Visakhapatnam's power infrastructure, the city's ambitious underground cabling network faces its biggest test yet as Cyclone Arnab lashed the coast with heavy rain and strong winds.

After the widespread, prolonged power outages during Hudhud, the Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (APEPDCL) undertook a major underground cabling project under the accelerated power development and reforms programme. Completed in 2023 at a cost of around `649 crore, the project aimed to make the city's power network more resilient to cyclones and other extreme weather events.

According to APEPDCL, the underground network comprises 1,021km of HT lines, 440km of 33kV lines, and 451km of 11kV lines, benefiting nearly 1.45 lakh consumers in Visakhapatnam city's Zone-I. Officials said the system was designed to minimise disruptions from strong winds, falling trees, and weather-related damage by shifting vulnerable overhead infrastructure underground.

APEPDCL officials said the underground cabling network has significantly strengthened power supply reliability and has performed effectively since its completion. However, Cyclone Arnab has caused extensive damage to the distribution network outside the underground cable corridors.

To tackle emergencies, APEPDCL deployed 4,339 personnel across 438 emergency response teams from the evening of October 27. Despite the large-scale mobilisation, the city and surrounding areas reported widespread disruptions.

By Wednesday, the utility reported damage to 245 feeders, 350 electricity poles and 14 distribution transformers (DTRs). Restoration efforts had restored 217 feeders and 55 poles, while work on damaged transformers continued.

Across Visakhapatnam, residents complained of prolonged outages and poor communication from authorities. In Kancharapalem, residents said electricity supply had remained disrupted for nearly 18 hours, causing severe inconvenience. They alleged that field-level restoration work was delayed because many personnel were engaged in election-related duties.

Similar complaints emerged from Akkayyapalem, where residents reported that power supply had been interrupted since Tuesday morning. Despite repeated complaints, they alleged that officials responded little, leaving elderly residents and children struggling without electricity.

In Ward 59, covering Ayyappa Nagar, NGGOs Colony and Pattabhi Reddy Gardens, residents said they had been struggling without power since Tuesday morning, with the outage continuing late into Wednesday evening.

The situation was no different in areas supplied through the Maddilapalem feeder under the HB Colony substation. Residents said power supply had remained interrupted since morning and that calls to the utility's helpline number 1912 had largely gone unanswered. Residents expressed frustration over the lack of communication regarding restoration timelines.

In Kailasapuram, too, households spent the day in darkness as restoration teams struggled to reach fault locations amid adverse weather conditions.

Meanwhile, electricity department staff claimed that they continued repair work at multiple locations across the Visakhapatnam circle. Officials attended to a broken jumper at the 11kV Sevanagar feeder bay in the Kommadi substation and, after obtaining the required line-clear permit, replaced a damaged post-top insulator on the 11kV Kommadi feeder.

In Gottipalli village under the Anandapuram section, a fallen palm tree damaged the 11kV Peddapalem feeder; elsewhere, personnel restored supply by replacing damaged insulators on the 11kV Haritha and 11kV Ambedkar Nagar feeders. At Srikanth Nagar Layout, a street-lighting DTR pole collapsed and was isolated as a safety precaution.

Officials said repair teams were also deployed at the 220kV Dairy Farm substation and the 33/11kV Sujatanagar substation, where they were replacing damaged electrical equipment. In GCC Layout, under the Kommadi section, workers removed a large tree that had fallen on a low-tension line.

Electricity officials acknowledged that relentless rain and strong winds were hampering restoration efforts. They said feeders were repeatedly tripping as falling branches kept coming into contact with power lines.

"Field staff are working continuously despite adverse weather conditions. Once wind speeds reduce, restoration work will be intensified, and supply normalised at the earliest," an official said.

Apart from power disruptions, the cyclone has also affected civic infrastructure across the city. According to GVMC officials, 401 trees have fallen within city limits, of which 211 have been cleared so far.

Transportation services have also been hit, with 160 RTC bus services cancelled because of blocked roads and unsafe conditions. Mobile network disruptions have further compounded the difficulties residents face when trying to communicate or seek assistance.