Power cuts leave tricity gasping in stifling heat

With mercury not offering any respite even after sunset, power infra buckles under rising load; Mohali worst-hit

- Hillary Victor, Mandeep Kaur Narula & Naina Mishra

MOHALI/CHANDIGARH/PANCHKULA: In the thick of summer, just when the tricity needs its fans, coolers and air-conditioners the most, the power goes out, snatching away even the faintest hope of comfort.

As June, the hottest month of the year unfolds, residents are trapped in stifling heat through the day and even the night is showing no mercy. High humidity is adding to the misery.

And then, the final straw breaking the residents' back is stretched power cuts, some scheduled, some unannounced—leaving residents sweating round the clock.

The worst-hit is Mohali, where rotational power cuts rolled out on Thursday, with officials blaming severe overloading—a result of non-stop use of cooling appliances.

Despite the Punjab government's claims of "surplus power", residents across Mohali are reeling under agonizing outages, ranging from one to four hours amid blistering temperatures. Electricity outages are being reported across major urban areas covered by 10 key 66 KV substations, including Phase 1, Phase 9, Sector 88, IT City, Sunny Enclave, Mullanpur, Seonk, Ramgarh Bhuda, Baltana and Dhakoli.

Sukhjeet Singh, deputy chief engineer, PSPCL, confirmed the district had witnessed a 20% rise in power load, but the infrastructure had not kept up, advising consumers to use power judiciously.

Along with overloaded power transformers, aging distribution lines and a lack of alternative sources for several under-capacity grids have exacerbated the crisis.

According to PSPCL officials, nearly 30% of the district's 19 grid substations are overloaded and incapable of handling the urban load.

A chronic shortage of power staff has also impacted response times. Out of 571 sanctioned posts for linemen and assistant linemen in the district, 203 remain vacant.