Marol Gaothan: Power cuts every alternate day

The outages have hit the entire locality, with 150 to 160 homes frequently losing power. “There are also outages in the remaining 90 homes, but the situation is worse in our stretch,” said Sachin Pereira, 46. Pereira said one of the outages lasted nearly six hours. “How can we survive in a summer like this?” he said.

MUMBAI: For residents of the Marol Gaothan in Andheri east, summer this year has meant living with frequent power cuts stretching from two to four hours, almost every alternate day, over the last month. With temperatures and humidity high, residents say routine life — from sleeping at night to running small businesses and storing food — has become exhausting.

Marol Gaothan: Power cuts every alternate day

The outages have hit the entire locality, with 150 to 160 homes frequently losing power. “There are also outages in the remaining 90 homes, but the situation is worse in our stretch,” said Sachin Pereira, 46. Pereira said one of the outages lasted nearly six hours. “How can we survive in a summer like this?” he said.

The crisis in the gaothan is particularly severe but, in May, a peak summer month, power disruptions are being routinely reported across the city. While power distribution companies cite tripped transformers, cable faults and an ageing power network, the underlying problem appears to be a sharp surge in demand, in part due to a greater reliance on air-conditioning.

Rapid real-estate expansion through redevelopment, with the inclusion of power-intensive amenities, is also driving up consumption. On May 14, Mumbai’s peak electricity demand crossed the 4,500-megawatt (MW) mark for the first time ever, against an average 3,900-4,000 MW during summer.

For residents of the Marol Gaothan, the pressure on the city’s power network has become a daily ordeal. To escape the heat indoors, residents spend the evenings outside their homes or in the narrow lanes. Many said elderly residents, children and those working from home are worst affected.

Adani Electricity, the power distributor for the area, refused to comment when HT reached out to them. However, sources in Adani Electricity said there are problems with the main line supplying electricity to the locality, and ongoing cement concrete (CC) road work has made it difficult to implement a long-term solution. However, an alternative arrangement has been made, sources added.

Electricity supply was disrupted from around 11 pm on Friday till nearly 3 am, and some pockets in the neighbourhood experienced longer outages than others. Supply cut off again, at around 9 am on Saturday, prompting local activist Godfrey Pimenta to write to Adani Electricity, following which a team carried out an inspection in the area.

“There are power outages every alternate day, for two to four hours, sometimes through the night. During the day, we can at least step out, but at night it feels like hell,” said Audrey Nunes, 69, a senior citizen. “I feel giddy and nauseous. It is taking a toll on my health. If consumers are penalised for delayed bills, why shouldn’t the power company be penalised for these outages?”

Jerissa Fernandes, 31, and her husband Alroy Mendonca, 31, said they lost a day of work each due to a prolonged power outage on Friday-Saturday. However, they said, their part of the gaothan had experienced only two outages this month, the last one being on May 13.

“The outage began at 11:50 pm and power was either completely unavailable or restored intermittently till 8 am, often for less than an hour throughout,” Fernandes said. She added that her husband made 13 to 15 calls to Adani Electricity through the day, but despite repeated assurances that the issue was being looked into, there was no resolution. She said power supply was lost, again, during the afternoon on Saturday.