300km of ageing BEST underground power cable network to be replaced after Bhuleshwar fire

According to BEST officials, several sections of the underground network are 70 to 80 years old, with some cables even dating back to pre-independence.

On Thursday, a fire triggered by a suspected short circuit in Mumbai's Bhuleshwar once again swung the spotlight on the ageing underground power cable network of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST). A substantial 300 km of the network is in need of replacement, and the process for this has begun.

A fire broke out at an imitation jewellery shop building in Third Bhoiwada, Bhuleshwar, in South Mumbai on Thursday. (Raju Shinde/ HT Photo)

According to BEST officials, several sections of the underground network are 70 to 80 years old, with some cables even dating back to pre-independence. “Following power outages, temporary connections are often provided, increasing the load on existing lines,” said a senior official from BEST. “This can cause old cables to overheat and catch fire. This could also have been a factor in the Bhuleshwar blaze.”

Replacement programme likely to take 2-3 years

The officials added that damaged sections of old cables were sometimes temporarily repaired by wrapping them with insulating tape. However, excessive heat, the weather, and the electrical load can cause the insulation and cables to deteriorate further, increasing the risk of short circuits and fires. BEST has now initiated a tender process to replace the 300km of underground electricity cables at an estimated cost of ₹200 crore.

The BEST authorities stated often temporary cables were connected to the power lines, exacerbating the problem. In several instances, engineers have restored supply by diverting power through alternate cable networks, a temporary measure that can increase the load on otherwise functional cables while leaving the original faults unresolved.

BEST has identified nearly 1,200 urgent cable fault locations across South and Central Mumbai, impacting municipal wards that serve around 1.05 million electricity consumers across areas like Marine Lines, Girgaon, Wadala, Dadar, and Zaveri Bazaar. Repairing these sites requires digging three- to five-metre patches at each location to replace temporary wiring used during past repairs. The entire project will take approximately one year to finish.

This effort may require fresh road excavations, including in Bhuleshwar and nearby areas where the BMC recently completed cement-concretization. Because BMC permission to dig up concrete roads is difficult to obtain, many cable faults have remained unresolved; BEST plans to compensate the civic body at an estimated rate of ₹10,000 per metre.

Currently, BEST faces over 2,500 unresolved technical and cable fault complaints. The crisis is most severe in South Mumbai’s A, B, C, D, and E wards, where a single fuse control room serves 350,000 consumers. So far this year, BEST has received roughly 7,500 power complaints—up by nearly 1,000 from 2024. To address these challenges, BEST approved recruiting 690 workers to fix faults exacerbated by heatwaves and monsoon waterlogging.