Now, 10-hour outages a daily affair in Gurgaon
Prolonged power cuts, frequent voltage fluctuations and feeders tripping have become some of the issues that residents have to worry about daily.
There seems to be no end in sight to the power crisis in Gurgaon. Prolonged power cuts, frequent voltage fluctuations and feeders tripping have become some of the issues that residents have to worry about daily.
The outages extend as long as 10 hours in majority of the residential colonies, including sectors 29, 40, 49, 17 and 15, and parts of DLF, South City and Sushant Lok.
“There was no power in our colony all night. Even the power backup did not last all night. We are lucky that it’s raining and the weather is comparatively cooler. Otherwise, the last few days would have been terrible,” Anika Mehta of Sector 49 said.
A number of trees were uprooted and electric wires were broken during the thunderstorm on Monday, adding to the woes of residents.
“The technicians said that a few power cables were broken during the thunderstorm. The power goes off late evening and supply resumes only around 6am. We have not slept for the last two days and children are restless,” brig (retd) Punjab Singh of Sector 17 said.
A few residents have also stopped using elevators and are climbing stairs instead. A number of people got stuck in elevators because of sudden power cuts and others fear it might happen to them too.
Despite claims by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) that complaints have been addressed, residents say discom officials mostly do not respond to calls.
“We called the DHBVN toll-free number at least 10 times last night but in vain. The city has no water or electricity. How are people supposed to get proper sleep or work in such a condition?” Vasudha Pratap of DLF 1 said.
Admitting that power cuts have been frequent, DHBVN cited Monday’s thunderstorm as the reason for outages. An official said electric wires are broken in several areas after trees fell on them and work is in progress to restore the normal supply.
“The recent power cuts are because of the heavy storm in Gurgaon. A number of trees fell on electric wires. Officials are identifying the spots where the wires are broken and repair work is in order,” Sanjeev Chopra, superintending engineer (operations) of the DHBVN said.
However, the city has been reeling under a power crisis even before the thunderstorm. At that time, the discom had laid the blame on the workers’ strike and staff shortage.
The normal electricity supply in the city is between 140 and 150 lakh units per day. This season, the demand has increased to 260 lakh units and is likely to scale up in the coming days. The Gurgaon circle has 22 substations with more than 65 transformers. The DHBVN is replacing old and dilapidated transformers to ensure minimal power cuts, an official said.