The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Fire at power house leads to outage

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Tuesday, Jun 21, 2011
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Kerala - Kochi

Fire at power house leads to outage

Special Correspondents

KSEB resorts to load-shedding
Fire broke out at Moolamattam unit

KOCHI: Power supply was disrupted across the State on Monday night as the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) resorted to load-shedding following the shutdown of the Moolamattam power house of the Idukki hydroelectric project in the wake of a fire there.

A fire broke out in the chamber of one of the six underground generators in the power house at 6.15 p.m.

The fire caused an explosion in the transformer of generator no. 5, injuring at least two employees.

Engineers Maria Isaac and A.S. Prabhakar were admitted to the medical college hospital at Kolencherry. They were later brought to Ernakulam Medical Centre with 70 per cent burns. Hospital authorities said their condition was critical.

The power house was shut down immediately after the explosion to avert further damage and destruction.

The authorities evacuated the employees who were present in the underground chamber.

The 780-MW Idukki project is the largest power project in Kerala.

Minister's statement

Special Correspondent adds from Thiruvananthapuram:

Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed said that steps would be taken to avert accidents in the Moolamattam power house. It would also be raised to the level of an ISO institution. He rushed the member secretary of the Electricity Board to the scene for a detailed study of the reasons for the fire.

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