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Ludhiana: Storm exposes PSPCL’s crumbling infra as monsoon woes loom
Adding to the woes, with the monsoon season just around the corner, this exposes a troubling reality; power supply is likely to be severely disrupted with no concrete line of action in sight to mitigate these recurring failures
Despite a staggering investment of ₹486 crore in power infrastructure upgrades, aimed at ensuring an uninterrupted electricity supply even during harsh weather, Ludhiana was plunged into widespread and prolonged outages following a fierce storm on Saturday night.
Residents endured power cuts lasting up to 24 hours, leaving them sweltering in the brutal heat. This stark reality has exposed glaring lapses in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited’s (PSPCL) claims and has led to widespread public questioning of the effectiveness of such massive public expenditure.
Adding to the woes, with the monsoon season just around the corner, this exposes a troubling reality: power supply is likely to be severely disrupted with no concrete line of action in sight to mitigate these recurring failures.
Issues persist despite ₹221-cr upgrade
The city, which power minister Harbhajan Singh ETO had lauded on May 3 for a “transformative” ₹221 crore overhaul of its electricity network, continues to grapple with frequent power cuts, persistent voltage fluctuations, and poor load management.
The recent storm unveils the glaring lapses of PSPCL modern infrastructure, unequivocally revealing a deeply vulnerable power grid that, despite all the upgrades, crumbled under pressure. This has only intensified public frustration, as promises of enhanced reliability seem to have disappeared in the face of adverse weather.
Further substantial investments included ₹13 crore to replace outdated ACSR lines with advanced HTLS conductors, promising higher capacity and efficiency. Amount to the tune of ₹47 crore was allocated for 921 new distribution transformers and replacing 396 overloaded ones, alongside ₹23 crore to bifurcate 79 overloaded feeders for improved load management.
Additionally, PSPCL announced ₹265 crore in projects on March 9 including transformers upgrades and ₹40 crore for four new 66 kV grids.
Yet, despite all this whopping investment and development, many parts of Ludhiana continue plunging major parts of the city into darkness, painting these promises as a “mockery” of taxpayers money, highlighting their unfulfilled nature.
Damaged equipment replaced: Chief engineer
When asked about such massive power failure in the city, chief engineer Jagdev Hans of PSPCL’s central zone attributed the crisis to the intense storm that hit Ludhiana on Saturday night. The storm caused extensive damage, uprooting around 700 electric poles, destroying 163 transformers, and snapping 6 km of ACSR wires. He added that the situation has since improved, with most of the damaged equipment now replaced.
‘Electric poles neglected amid power upgrades’
A senior PSPCL official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said most investments in Ludhiana’s power infrastructure focus on transformers, transmission line upgrades, and increasing grid capacity.
He pointed out that recent outages stem from weak pole structures that fail during storms. For instance, NHAI’s narrow-based towers on Ferozepur and Chandigarh roads remained standing despite intense weather, due to innovative design. In contrast, PSPCL poles are often set in loosely dug soil without the muffing technique, a method previously used to secure poles firmly making them prone to collapse amid rain and storm and causing power disruptions, lasting upto long hours.
