Panaji: A crow that flew into high-tension power lines at the Xeldem substation caused a five-hour power outage that affected several parts of Salcete and the entire Kushavati district on Wednesday morning.The bird came into contact with a busbar at the substation, triggering a flashover that led to the tripping of three transformers. The incident disrupted power supply to Margao, Fatorda, parts of Sanguem and Quepem, and other areas.Power department officials initially could not determine the cause of the simultaneous tripping of the three transformers. They later examined CCTV footage from the substation and found that a crow had flown into the busbar moments before the outage.Superintending engineer (South) Rajiv Samant said the crow had triggered the tripping of all three transformers.Officials were unable to provide an alternative power supply from the Verna substation as a 33kV cable near a petrol pump had been damaged by a national highway contractor. Since the cable was part of the standby network and was not in service, officials could not ascertain when the damage had occurred.Samant said the damaged cable will be repaired on Thursday.Power supply to Sanguem and Quepem was restored earlier in the day, while supply to Margao, Fatorda and other affected areas was restored after noon.
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