Massive power outage leaves residents in Pune frustrated

People living in areas like Kothrud, Sahakarnagar, Parvati, Hadapsar, Bibvewadi, Sinhagad Road, Peshwe Park, NIBM Road, Mandai, and Phursungi faced a massive power outage around 9:45 pm, disrupting their lives.

The power cut left people feeling frustrated and helpless. (Representational Image)

(Written by Vaishnavi Joshi)

Citizens across Pune faced a massive power outage on Wednesday due to a fault in the 400 kv Jejuri tower line of the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL).
Around 4.57 lakh people were affected. People living in areas like Kothrud, Sahakarnagar, Parvati, Hadapsar, Bibvewadi, Sinhagad Road, Peshwe Park, NIBM Road, Mandai, and Phursungi faced a massive power outage around 9:45 pm, disrupting their lives.

Mugdha Despande, a resident of Kothrud, said, “The outage lasted a long time and because of the extreme heat, we were affected a lot. As we live on the top floor of the building, the heat from the terrace had a direct impact on our house, making it unbearable. I tried calling the helpline number, but they were unresponsive.”

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Tanay Sapre, a working professional residing in Hadapsar, said, “I was unable to work from home because I couldn’t charge my laptop, and the extreme heat didn’t let me concentrate on my work.”

The power cut left people feeling frustrated and helpless. Dr Anjushree Augustine, staying in Sinhagad Road, said, “Last night, we had a power cut from 9 pmto midnight, and then again from 4 AM. It was so frustrating. As the summer temperature is so high, this power cut was so sudden. The heat was unbearable, and I couldn’t even charge my phone to call anyone for help. I tried reaching out to the electricity distribution company but they didn’t answer my calls. I felt helpless.”

Another resident from Sinhagad Road, Paritosh Bhuwad, voiced similar concerns. He said, “I tried calling the helpline number almost two to three times, but it was either busy or no one answered the calls. The hot weather made things worse, and we couldn’t charge our phones or laptops. My father had to work from home, and the power cut negatively affected his work. These power cuts keep happening frequently without any prior notice, it disrupts our daily routine.”

“The city has been witnessing a heatwave for the last 2-3 days, which has increased the demand for electricity, leading to stress on some of the high-pressure substations and power lines of MSETCL. The damage on Wednesday night led to a major shortfall in electricity in the transmission lines. To prevent possible risks and faults in the transmission system, the automatic Load Trimming Scheme (LTS) system was activated. As a result, power supply to these areas was disrupted,” stated the official statement given by MSEDCL.

(Vaishnavi Joshi is an intern with The Indian Express)

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