Patna, Jan. 1: The state government has earmarked Rs 376.21 crore to strengthen the power distribution system within three years.

As part of the plan, the state electricity board would take measures to enhance the capacity of distribution trans-formers and power transformers at the sub-stations. Power is supplied to the consumers’ houses through the distribution transformers.

“We have chalked out a plan to either enhance the capacity of distribution transformers or install new transformers across the state over a period of three years. The government has sanctioned Rs 228.14 crore to enhance, replace or install the transformers,” a board official said.

The distribution transformers tend to trip during peak hours between April and September because of over-loading.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar has time and again pledged to replace the burnt transformers within 24 hours in urban areas and 72 hours in villages. On December 21, he reviewed the board’s performance and asked the power officials to replace the burnt transformers within the stipulated time. But in reality, the burnt transformers are rarely replaced within the timeframe in any part of the state, except urban Patna.

When asked if the board could achieve the target of replacing the burnt transformers within the timeframe or install new transformers, Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) spokesman H.R. Pandey told The Telegraph: “We have made a significant improvement in 2010. Earlier, we had a huge backlog of burnt transformers. But the number has been reduced recently. This is because 650 transformers are now being repaired at our workshop each month. Earlier, the number was 300.”

A board official said it was difficult to replace all burnt transformers within the stipulated time unless the backlog of such machines was cleared. “We have been quite successful in Patna, where the backlog of burnt transformers is zero,” he claimed.

The state has seven transformer repairing workshops in various towns, including Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur and Bhagalpur.

The government has, on the other hand, earmarked Rs 80.23 crore to either enhance the capacity of the power transformers or install new transformers at power sub-stations that are overloaded. It has also been decided to replace the transformers within a short time at sub-stations with a minimum capacity of 5MVA. The government has sanctioned Rs 67.84 crore for this.