Double Blow for Power Consumers as Maintenance and Rain Trigger Widespread Outages

Time of India

22-05-2025

Nagpur: The city endured trauma on Wednesday as scheduled maintenance work till afternoon and a severe thunderstorm in the evening triggered widespread power outages, lasting hours across the city.
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Nagpurians sweated it out without power in the blistering noon heat and again faced prolonged blackouts in the evening.
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) planned routine maintenance work on Wednesday morning, affecting power supply in several areas, including Shankar Nagar and other localities. These scheduled outages were on top of MSEDCL's ongoing pre-monsoon maintenance drive, which already caused long power cuts in recent weeks.
As clouds hovered over the evening sky, the power situation worsened with heavy rains and winds lashing the city. Several uprooted trees fell on power lines, and feeder cables suffered damage, plunging neighbourhoods into darkness. Meanwhile, MSEDCL officials managed to restore power in around 90% of affected areas by 9:30pm.
One of the worst-affected areas was Deendayal Nagar in Khamla, where a large tree collapsed on overhead wires, causing an abrupt blackout.
Similar tree-fall incidents were reported in multiple localities, overwhelming MSEDCL's restoration teams.
In the Mahal division, a lightning arrester failure shut down the Tajbagh feeder between 7:19am and 8:56am. Later, around 2:15pm, a JCB machine damaged an underground cable near Medical Square, leading to further supply disruption. At Mahalgaon, a tree fell on a line between 6:15pm and 7:05pm, while a conductor snapped in the Swaminarayan area, causing additional outages.
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Neighbourhoods like Hanuman Nagar, Chandan Nagar, Tajbagh, Raghuji Nagar, Antugi Nagar, Tulsi Nagar, Swaminarayan, Congress Nagar, Savarkar Nagar, and Hindustan Colony suffered blackouts for several hours, many due to trees snapping live wires and damaging poles.
Heavy downpour and strong gusts also caused feeder trips in Wadi City, Hingna-2, Lava, Khadgaon, and Mahadev Nagar. The Surabardi feeder was shut down, but later temporarily restored via backfeed from another substation.
Feeders in Pix, Nagalwadi, and Narayan Nagar went offline due to similar faults, while power was disrupted in Dharampeth, MM Tower, and Venkatesh Nagar as well.
In another incident, a power line snapped near Karan Lawn and Ankita Society. Despite the challenges, MSEDCL crew worked overtime and managed to restore high-tension feeders by 9pm. Low-tension line repairs continued into the night, particularly in Atharva Nagari under the FDR Bidown project, where faults near the Atharv Elite scheme were being attended to.
Power supply was gradually restored in key locations, including Sainagar, Wadi, and Butibori Industrial Estate. The Savarkar Nagar feeder, previously down due to a fallen branch, was also brought back online.
Other affected areas included CP Bar, CPWD Colony, Gittikhadan Police Line, Azad Nagar, Nehru Colony, Pension Nagar, Baba Farid Nagar, Ratan Nagar, Gayatri Nagar, Arya Nagar, Zingabai Takli, Shambhu Nagar, Om Nagar, Prem Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, Shrikar Nagar Road, Srinagar Road, Swami Nagar, Gorewada Vasti, Abdul Hameed Nagar, Friends Colony, Clark Town 2, and zones near Mental Hospital and Kingsway Hospital.
MSEDCL officials stated that while the situation was under control, restoration work would continue overnight and into the next day to ensure full resumption of power across the city.