Mumbaiites feel the heat, face 4 hour-long power cut

The power demand increased in Mumbai by 400MW due to October heat.

Mumbaiites have begun to feel the heat of load shedding, as a shortfall of 2000 megawatt (MW) left parts of the city without power on Thursday afternoon. Parts of Mulund and Bhandup, which are serviced by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MahaVitaran), witnessed load shedding for about three to four hours. Thane and Navi Mumbai also experienced load shedding.

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“This was not a planned power outage. Maharashtra’s electricity demand is 17,900MW, but only 15,700MW was produced. There was a shortfall of 2,200MW, due to inadequate supply of coal to MahaGenco. In Mumbai, the demand increased by 400MW due to October heat. We are trying our best to resolve the issue,” said a MahaVitaran official.

According to officials, for the next week, people living in Mulund, Bhandup could face up to two hours of power-cuts during the day, whereas people in Thane could face cuts for up to seven hours. Meanwhile, there were no reports of power outages in areas that are serviced by Reliance Energy, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking and Tata Power Ltd.