BY GLENN COSTA
MARGAO:  Electricity consumers in the state are suffering this hot and humid summer as the state has been hit by low voltage and erratic power supply.

People are   fighting off stifling humidity as air conditioners are tripping, fans are running slow and refrigerators are cooling below capacity.
However, electricity department officials are quick to point out that this is not really their fault as it is a question of supply from the grid.
“Interstate voltage is less because some generating units have been shut down, one of them at Ramagundom. And since the power supplied is less so the voltage supplied to people too has come down,” the AE, electricity department, Mr S Lolienkar told the media when he was questioned about this.
Electricity department officials said that this is an all Goa problem and they are trying to sort it out at their local level and satisfy the people by changing their “transformer taps” and trying to maintain a constant voltage.
But in many areas this has not been very successful and voltage has been fluctuating leading to MCPs tripping constantly or the voltage going so low that many appliances just refuse  to function.
When the officials were questioned as to how long this was expected to last they were not too sure saying that this would depend on when the power supply regularises and “then we will be able to give proper voltage”.
They, however, expect this to be a short-term problem and saw that probably this was because of some ongoing pre-monsoon maintenance work.
Empathising with the people from his constituency on the frequent power fluctuations, the Curtorim MLA, Mr Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco appealed to them “to bear with me as I am already seized with this problem”.
As an immediate solution, 10 new transformers have been approved for the constituency of which the installation works of two transformers -- one at Ganapoga (Raia) and the other near Our Lady of Carmel Chapel (Curtorim) -- are in progress and the works are expected to be completed in another 10 days or so, while the remaining transformers will be installed very shortly in all the villages of the Curtorim assembly constituency.
He has also appealed to his constituents to cooperate with the personnel who are in charge of installing the said transformers and also to those who are assigned the work of trimming the branches of the trees which are touching live electrical wires for ensuring smooth flow of current during the monsoons.