Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka spent Tuesday in Bengaluru, examining the city’s sweeping underground power shift—an ambitious cabling project spearheaded by Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM).
The visit was pegged to Telangana’s broader urban infrastructure agenda. Bhatti Vikramarka began the day at a high-level review hosted by BESCOM, where senior power sector officials laid out the scale and strategy behind the conversion of overhead lines to underground and aerial bunched cabling across the city.
Pankaj Pandey, Managing Director of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited, along with BESCOM leadership, led presentations detailing the Overhead to Underground (OH to UG) Power Conversion Project—one of the most intensive urban power revamps in the country. Telangana’s power utilities were also at the table: Krishna Bhaskar, CMD of TRANSCO, and Musharraf Faruqi, CMD of SPDCL, joined the discussions.
Since its inception in 2018–19, the project has shifted over 7,400 km of 11kV overhead lines into underground or bundled configurations. A parallel initiative has seen thousands of kilometres of low-tension wires buried or replaced. What’s notable is the integrated Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) ducting—designed to offer future telecom leasing potential, giving BESCOM a commercial edge.
Bhatti Vikramarka quizzed officials on four fronts: the project’s financial architecture—underpinned by loans from ADB, REC, and other banks; measurable reductions in technical losses and electrical mishaps—down 2% post-UG conversion; commercial readiness of the OFC network—ducts are in place, but BBMP and telcos are still syncing up; and the operational role of Ring Main Units (RMUs) in cutting downtime and enhancing system reliability.
He voiced appreciation for the project’s discipline and breadth, stressing that Telangana must integrate these learnings into its upcoming Future City power grid programme.
Later, the Deputy CM toured a pilot site at 15th Cross, Malleshwaram, where a fully underground distribution setup—with buried transformers and street-level access panels—has been deployed. At the Malleshwaram pilot site, transformer units sat fully buried—maintenance hatches just above ground. No street clutter, no exposed gear.
Bhatti Vikramarka spent time with the site crew. Asked about emergency handling, load splits, quick-fix routines. Said setups like this could ease the pressure in Telangana’s tight city lanes.