India's Power Grid Woes: Tackling Transformer Failures

Annually, around 1.3 million transformer failures occur in India due to issues such as poor repair, unbalanced loading, and weather conditions. A government committee highlights the national distribution transformer failure rate at about 10%. A meeting addressed these failures, with recommendations for modern solutions and regular progress reviews.

India faces a significant challenge with transformer failures, hitting approximately 1.3 million annually, as revealed by a government committee. Critical reasons highlighted include inadequate repairs and unbalanced loading, coupled with adverse weather effects.

The significance of power transformers in electricity transmission and distribution underpins the urgency in addressing India's 10% distribution transformer failure rate. In a detailed meeting, this issue was brought to the forefront by discussions initiated by the Prime Minister's Office.

Discussions pinpointed overloading and poor maintenance as primary culprits, while manufacturing defects like poor brazing also contribute. Proposals were made for modern sealing mechanisms and regular power quality audits, as the Standardisation Cell commits to quarterly reviews to ensure continued progress.

(With inputs from agencies.)