Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has urged farmers across the Nashik zone to immediately remove auto-switches from agricultural pumps, warning that simultaneous restarting after power restoration is causing transformer burnouts, line trippings and snapped electricity wires.
The utility has advised farmers to install capacitors of the correct capacity on pump motors instead. MSEDCL said appropriately sized capacitors could reduce the electrical load by about 10% or more and help prevent transformer failures.
Farmers commonly use auto-switches to restart pumps automatically after an electricity outage. According to MSEDCL, the arrangement can cause several pumps connected to the same transformer to start at the same time when supply returns. This creates a sudden spike in demand and places excessive stress on transformers and the local distribution network.
“When power is restored, auto-switches turn all agricultural pumps on a transformer on at the same time, causing the load on the transformer to suddenly spike,” Nashik zone chief engineer Sundar Latpate said. “As a result, incidents like transformer burnouts, failures and snapping of power lines occur frequently, causing distress to both farmers and MSEDCL.”
Latpate asked every agricultural consumer to remove auto-switches immediately and install a capacitor suited to the capacity of the agricultural pump. The advisory links the equipment change directly to reducing simultaneous demand on transformers when electricity supply resumes.
MSEDCL officials said the problem becomes more severe when transformers are already heavily loaded. Unauthorised connections and unrecorded loads can add to the burden, pushing transformers and distribution lines beyond their capacity. A sudden surge following power restoration can then trigger equipment failures and local outages, the officials said.
A senior MSEDCL officer described capacitors matched to individual pump capacities as a simple measure that could cut the load by about 10% or more. The officer said this reduction could help lower transformer burnouts and failures. Capacitors can also help address low-voltage problems and interruptions during periods when transformers are being repaired, the officer added.
The advisory places responsibility on agricultural electricity consumers to remove the automatic restarting devices and install suitable capacitors. MSEDCL’s warning also highlights how demand concentrated on shared local transformers can affect both agricultural supply and the reliability of the wider distribution network. The utility has not specified a separate deadline for farmers to make the change.
