Cyclone Arnab: APEPDCL restores power to 25% of affected connections

Thousands of electric poles lie collapsed after Cyclone Arnab made landfall near Bendamurlanka in Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district on Wednesday. More than 10,000 new poles are being installed across the district. | Photo Credit: V. RAJU Cyclone Arnab disrupted power supply to 25,32,890 non-agricultural services and 94,439 agricultural services across 4,016 villages in 11 districts under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh (APEPDCL), according to officials. Thousands of electric poles lie collapsed in Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district on Wednesday in the aftermath of Cyclone Arnab. | Photo Credit: V. RAJU Power supply has been restored to 6,37,778 non-agricultural services, accounting for 25.18% of the affected connections, and 20,989 agricultural services, or 22.22%. Electricity has also been restored to 1,874 villages, accounting for 46.66% of the total affected villages.Speaking to The Hindu, APEPDCL CMD Immadi Prudhvitej said all teams were making every effort to restore power supply at the earliest.The damage to electrical installations has been estimated at ₹11.69 crore (₹1,169.84 lakh).The cyclone damaged hundreds of kilometres of transmission and distribution lines, including 46.73 km of 33-KV lines, 355.53 km of 11-KV lines and 537.12 km of low-tension (LT) lines. Of these, 7.6 km of 33-KV lines, 10.91 km of 11-KV lines and 2.52 km of LT lines have been repaired.Of the 477 33/11-KV substations under the APEPDCL jurisdiction, 470 were affected, and 203 have been restored. Disruptions were also reported in 443 33-KV feeders and 2,096 11-KV feeders, of which 236 and 746, respectively, have been restored.Gale-force winds brought down 3,079 11-KV poles and 3,191 LT poles. The cyclone also damaged 374 distribution transformers and five power transformers.APEPDCL has deployed 582 special teams comprising 6,674 personnel to speed up restoration work in the affected mandals.Compared with Cyclone Hudhud, which devastated Visakhapatnam in October 2014 and caused extensive damage to the power infrastructure, the estimated financial impact of Cyclone Arnab on APEPDCL’s assets is considerably lower. Officials attributed the comparatively limited damage to advance warnings, pre-cyclone preparedness measures and the deployment of emergency teams.Mr. Prudhvitej urged the public not to touch snapped power lines or fallen electric poles. Consumers can report power interruptions and emergencies by calling the toll-free number 1912. Published - October 28, 2026 08:02 pm IST