Power cuts get longer, more frequent and follow no time-table

Power supply sources are drying up, and Delhiites have been bearing the brunt of 8-10 hour power cuts. The government claimed the duration of each power cut was one hour, but residents said there were many one-two hour outages in a day. Avishek G Dastidar reports.

The national capital is in the grips of one of its worst power crises in recent times.

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Power supply sources are drying up, and Delhiites have been bearing the brunt of 8-10 hour power cuts. The government claimed the duration of each power cut was one hour, but residents said there were many one-two hour outages in a day.

“In several areas, power cuts were for 10 hours,” said Pankaj Aggarwal, general secretary, federation of government-recognised RWAs.

Power distribution companies (distcoms) have not provided schedules of planned outages either, residents said.

“The heat wave is causing a lot of breakdown in the old transformers, which need replacement,” said Rajendra Kumar, Delhi power secretary.

Uttarakhand, which was to supply 200-250 megawatts to Delhi, has not sent anything. “Glaciers in the Himalayas have not started melting, so the volume of water needed for power generation at hydel plants is missing,” said a distcom official, requesting anonymity.

Water levels in the reservoirs of hydel plants in the hill states have been reduced to their lowest in 10 years. As a result, the Northern Grid is under pressure from constituent states, including Delhi, which are overdrawing massively and destabilising the grid, causing frequent trippings.