Despite the Punjab government imposing a two-day shutdown on industrial consumers, residents continued to swelter within the confines of their homes as unscheduled power outages continued across the district.
The total power demand in Ludhiana central zone is 6,400 MW, of which 2,800MW is utilised by the industry. Last year, the power consumption was 6,000 MW. “The increased power consumption in summer is causing the transformers to overload, resulting in unscheduled blackouts in certain areas,” a PSPCL official said.“We have had to replace transformers in some areas, which is a time-consuming process,” the official said, adding that a downpour would reduce the use of air conditioners and reduce the load on transformers.
10 to 12-hour power cuts
After three transformers catering to Anand Nagar, Chander Nagar, Joshi Nagar, Pritam Nagar were damaged last night, residents had to manage without electricity for around 10 to 12 hours. Irked they lodged around 3,500 complaints on the helpline number (1912), but to no avail.
An irate resident, who did not wish to be named, said, “Authorities must intimate the public about power cuts in advance so that we can plan our ‘work at home’, accordingly.”
Residents of BRS Nagar also reported a three-hour power outage from 12.30pm to 3.30pm due to maintenance work.
Mohit Sharma of Pritam Nagar, said, “It is difficult to stay without electricity for long periods. There was a power outage in our area last night. However, despite lodging several complaints power was resumed only after 4pm. The long power cut has affected all the eatables stored in the refrigerator.”
Another resident from Chander Nagar, Kimti Rawal, said, “Power supply was disrupted in our area around 7pm yesterday and was resumed in the evening. Water supply was also affected due to the power outage.” “Besides, it is difficult to do without air conditioners in this heat. Authorities should have made contingency plans to prevent overloading of transformers before the summer season began,” Rawal added.
{{/usCountry}}Another resident from Chander Nagar, Kimti Rawal, said, “Power supply was disrupted in our area around 7pm yesterday and was resumed in the evening. Water supply was also affected due to the power outage.” “Besides, it is difficult to do without air conditioners in this heat. Authorities should have made contingency plans to prevent overloading of transformers before the summer season began,” Rawal added.
{{/usCountry}}PSPCL chief engineer, distribution (central), Bhupinder Singh Khosla, said, “Power consumption has increased by 400 MW this year. In the areas where transformers get damaged, workers swiftly make the repairs and resume power. All tubewells in the district have been provided an eight-hour power supply so farmers can irrigate their fields.”