Residents in rural and suburban parts of Ludhiana have reported prolonged evening power outages over the past few days, with supply disruptions lasting several hours daily.
According to residents, power cuts between 7 pm and 1 am have become frequent over the last 48–72 hours, affecting water supply and routine household activities. While urban areas have seen relatively fewer disruptions, rural belts have been the worst hit.
Power department officials said the outages are linked to multiple generation setbacks that have reduced the overall electricity available to the state grid. One unit at the Talwandi Sabo power plant (3×600 MW) went offline following a fault at a major substation. In addition, one unit each at the Ropar Thermal Plant and Ranjit Sagar Dam is also affected, further tightening supply.
Officials explained that the loss of even a single large unit in the 500–600 MW range creates a significant imbalance between demand and supply, particularly during the summer season when consumption rises. With multiple units down simultaneously, the shortfall increases, necessitating load shedding.
The impact is more pronounced in rural and suburban areas due to the nature of the distribution network. Unlike urban feeders, which are prioritised and relatively more robust, rural areas rely on longer distribution lines and UTS (urban-transmission-suburban type) feeders, which are more vulnerable to load fluctuations and are the first to face scheduled or unscheduled cuts when supply drops.
Officials added that thermal plants are currently operating under constrained conditions, while renewable sources such as solar provide limited support during evening and night hours—when demand peaks and outages have been reported.
{{/usCountry}}Officials added that thermal plants are currently operating under constrained conditions, while renewable sources such as solar provide limited support during evening and night hours—when demand peaks and outages have been reported.
{{/usCountry}}Department data shows that suburban and rural feeders accounted for the bulk of disruptions, with cumulative outage duration exceeding 20,000 minutes in recent days, indicating the scale of the supply stress.
Chief engineer (Central Zone) Jagdev Singh Hans said efforts are underway to restore supply, but immediate full relief may not be possible. “The Talwandi Sabo unit is expected to be restored by tonight, which may provide some relief. However, outages at Ropar and Ranjit Sagar continue, so constraints may persist,” he said.
He added that temporary arrangements have been made from the central pool to manage the shortfall, though only partial improvement can be expected in the short term.
Residents said the lack of a fixed schedule has added to the inconvenience. “Power cuts are happening daily in the evening, and there is no clarity on timings. It has become difficult to manage in this heat,” said a resident from a suburban area.
With summer demand yet to peak, officials said continued outages at generation units could keep pressure on supply, particularly in rural areas.