Andhra Pradesh power restoration work is being accelerated after Cyclone Arnab damaged nearly 15,000 electricity poles, along with conductors and distribution transformers, across several districts, with the state government targeting full supply restoration by Saturday evening, Energy Minister G Gottipati Ravi Kumar said on Friday.
The damage has been reported in East Godavari, West Godavari, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Konaseema and Kakinada districts. Electricity restoration teams have been deployed across the affected areas, where strong winds damaged poles and snapped conductors.
About 2,500 personnel from the Southern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited, or APSPDCL, have been sent to support restoration work in areas served by the Eastern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited, or APEPDCL, the minister said.
In West Godavari, approximately 60 per cent of restoration work had been completed by Thursday night. The remaining work in the district was expected to be completed by Friday night, while restoration across all affected areas was targeted for Saturday evening, according to the minister.
The outages have implications beyond household electricity supply. The government is giving special attention to aquaculture farmers because prolonged power cuts could disrupt their operations. Agricultural connections and domestic connections are also being prioritised during the restoration process.
The state had moved between 15,000 and 20,000 poles, distribution transformers and conductors to locations near vulnerable and affected areas before the cyclone. The pre-positioning of these materials was intended to reduce the time required to replace damaged equipment and reconnect supply.
The Energy Minister said Andhra Pradesh had also sought additional manpower and materials from neighbouring Telangana and Tamil Nadu to speed up repair work. Senior officials and engineers have been deployed in the affected districts to monitor the response and coordinate field operations.
In some locations, electricity supply was shut down as a precaution to prevent accidents while repair teams worked around damaged infrastructure. The restoration timeline will depend on the replacement of poles, conductors and transformers and on the ability of crews to safely access the affected sections of the distribution network.
The government’s stated next milestone is full restoration across the affected districts by Saturday evening, with field teams continuing work on damaged distribution infrastructure and priority connections in the meantime.
