16-hr outage: Many Ludhiana areas plunge into darkness
Reportedly, the downpour damaged several transformers and crippled multiple substations, leaving the entire neighbourhood in darkness
Various parts of the city witnessed power outage for long hours on Monday after heavy rains battered Ludhiana, plunging nearly 20% of the population into blackout and disrupting supply to both residential and industrial pockets, officials familiar with the matter said.
Reportedly, the downpour damaged several transformers and crippled multiple substations, leaving the entire neighbourhood in darkness. Areas such as Islamganj, Prem Nagar, Janta Nagar, Daba Road, Lohara, CRP Colony and Giaspura faced outages stretching as long as 16 to 18 hours, officials said.
Additionally, 98 feeders tripped across the city. The Estate division was the worst hit with 41 feeders down, followed by City Centre with 18, CMC with 17 and Model Town with 14, highlighting the scale of the disruption.
Grid failures trigger blackouts
The heaviest blow came from failures at the Doraha and Giaspura substations, which triggered complete blackouts in adjoining areas for several hours. In addition to this, over 10 substations were hit, including the 220 KV substations at Gaunsgarh, and the 66 KV substations at Tibba Road, Dhandari and Giaspura. In some substations, staff were left with no choice but to completely shut down supply to avoid electrocution hazards, further delaying power restoration in affected areas, officials said.
Routine operations badly hit
Heavy water accumulation further crippled PSPCL’s operations, throwing the power department into disarray at a time when the city was already struggling with prolonged outages. Several divisional offices and grid stations were inundated, with rainwater seeping into control rooms, equipment yards and underground cable chambers.
In several locations, staff members found themselves wading through knee deep water just to access their workplaces, while sensitive equipment such as transformer components, switchgear panels and meter boxes remained submerged for hours, raising the risk of permanent damage.
Supply to waterlogged areas to remain affected
In view of the heavy rains and severe waterlogging, PSPCL has decided to keep the supply switched off in several vulnerable pockets of the city as a precautionary measure. Senior officials said that electricity will remain snapped in localities such as Kundanpuri, Basant City, Haibowal and adjoining areas of Buddha Nullah until conditions improve.
They explained that whenever water levels rise, the risk of electrocution and other mishaps multiplies, making it unsafe to keep the power on even if feeders and transformers are technically functional. As a result, supply to transformers, pillar boxes and meter boxes located in flooded areas has been deliberately cut off to prevent any danger.
Field teams have been instructed to continuously monitor the situation on the ground and begin phased restoration as soon as water starts receding. “We are assessing the situation in each locality and will resume power supply in stages once the areas are cleared of water accumulation,” officials noted.
Complaints pour in
Highlighting the grim situation, PSPCL’s central zone was inundated with a staggering 18,279 complaints of power outages in just a single day on Monday, reflecting the scale of disruption caused by the rains. Among these, Aggar Nagar division topped the list with 2,851 complaints, followed by Model Town (2,820) and Focal Point (2,759).
When contacted, chief engineer Jagdev Hans said, “Due to adverse weather conditions, power outages are likely to persist. As several localities in Ludhiana are facing extreme water accumulation, we will keep the power supply in affected areas off. Our staff on the ground has been directed to ensure all safety measures while repairing electricity lines and transformers.”
