Just three days into October, BEST already dealing with power cuts in SoBo

Mumbai's BEST faces 2-4 hour power cuts due to old cables and rising demand. A five-year, ₹6,000 crore upgrade plan is in the works to improve supply

Mumbai: Only three days into October, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) is already facing trouble with power supply. For the last three days, areas in south Mumbai have been facing two-to-four-hour power cuts due to heavy load.

For the last three days, areas in south Mumbai have been facing two-to-four-hour power cuts due to heavy load. Representational Image

On Thursday evening, there were power cuts in Bhuleshwar, Kalbadevi, Princess Street, Fanaswadi and other congested areas of south Mumbai. “For the last three days, there was a power cut around 6-7 pm that went for 2-4 hours,” said D Vyas, a resident of Bhuleshwar. “On Wednesday night, power supply was restored after midnight. It’s just the start of October and we are already facing power cuts in the island city.”

BEST officials said the congested bazaar areas of south Mumbai are running on 80-year-old power cables that need to be replaced. “Since the past 4-5 days, complaints of cable faults have gone up from 3-4 per day to 15-16. The cables are old, and its replacement is in the pipeline. For digging the roads, we have sought BMC’s permission, which is expected soon. Moreover, due to space constraints in these locations, we are unable to increase the number of substations that are essential for smooth supply of power,” said a BEST official, who requested anonymity as they aren’t authorised to speak to the media.

BEST needs to replace the 80-year-old cables and set up compact secondary substations every 300-400 metres at prominent junctions and housing societies. However, with redevelopment underway across the city, officials said real estate developers do not easily give permission to set up such substations inside their premises, which is a critical factor behind power going off-supply.

The ageing electric cables lie 2-4 metres beneath the ground. BEST has chalked out a five-year plan to replace them, which will require investment worth ₹6,000 crore to upgrade the power supply network. The work also includes restructuring the 1,000-km-long underground cable network.

Authorities also blame the rising temperatures post-monsoon for the sudden spurt in power demand. The peak demand for electricity in the island city under BEST’s jurisdiction was 814 MW and 835 MW on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The average demand is around 730-750 MW. BEST officials said they expect demand to cross 900 MW this month. This summer, the demand in the island city had crossed 1000 MW.

The power demand across Mumbai has also surpassed 3,600 MW and is expected to increase in the coming days. BEST, which has a purchase agreement with Tata Power, is trying to acquire cheaper power from elsewhere. While Tata Power will continue to supply 375 MW to BEST, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved its petition to procure 125 MW of cheaper power from outside.

“We have tied up for procuring 125MW round the clock power from Sai Wardha Power Generation Pvt Ltd at a rate of ₹5.56 per unit,” said another BEST official.

BEST, in the petition, claimed it will save ₹569 crore with this agreement, which will benefit 1.05 million consumers.