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Ludhiana: Feeder failures amid rain leave city without power for up to 7 hrs
Several residents also complained about voltage fluctuations before and after the outages, which they said posed a risk to household appliances and electronic equipment
Even a routine spell of rain was enough to throw Ludhiana’s power distribution system into disarray on Tuesday, with large swathes of the city remaining without electricity for three to seven hours, once again exposing the fragility of the civic infrastructure.
According to official data, nearly 26 feeders of 11 KV lines tripped across the city during the rainfall, disrupting power supply in several localities including Dugri Road, Jammu Colony, Kartar Nagar, Daba Colony, Atam Nagar, Model Town Extension, Lohara, Preet Nagar and Bhai Himat Singh Nagar, among others.
Residents said the situation has become routine, with even mild showers resulting in prolonged outages.
Gurdeep Singh, a resident of Daba Colony, said that every time there is even a light drizzle, electricity is snapped for hours. On Tuesday, his area remained without power for nearly four hours. Despite repeated calls to the 1912 helpline, there was no response, he said.
Echoing similar concerns, Dilpreet Kaur, a resident of Jammu Colony, said the power outage from morning till late afternoon completely disrupted daily life. She said while people understand disruptions during major storms, such prolonged outages during light rain point to deeper systemic problems.
As the outages stretched on, the power department recorded 12,411 complaints across Ludhiana district by 6 pm, with 2,009 grievances still pending resolution, officials said.
Several residents also complained about voltage fluctuations before and after the outages, which they said posed a risk to household appliances and electronic equipment.
Chief engineer Jagdev Hans said the power cuts on Tuesday were largely caused by feeder trippings, a weather-related phenomenon. “Whenever rainwater comes into contact with electric lines, feeders automatically trip to prevent earthing and avoid accidents. Restoration work was taken up on a priority basis and power supply was largely restored across the city by Tuesday evening.”
