Heatwave triggers surge in electricity demand, outages

Soaring temperatures have led to a surge in electricity demand, especially during the night hours, resulting in power outages across many areas due to short circuits and infrastructure overloads.

According to officials, the main reason for this crisis is that many consumers have not upgraded their electricity load despite significantly increased usage, particularly of air conditioners. This overloads the existing infrastructure, which was not designed to handle such high demand.

The city is grappling with frequent power outages as the ongoing heatwave drives up electricity consumption. The power grid is struggling to cope, leading to short circuits and system failures.

Residents in many areas are experiencing multiple power cuts daily, disrupting their lives. Satish Kumar, a resident of the Mohkampura area, reported experiencing three power cuts in a single night. “Due to the overheating of wires, the power supply from the poles often gets disrupted. Both scheduled and unscheduled power cuts are being implemented by the power corporation,” he said.

Another resident from Kot Khalsa said, “It becomes very difficult when the power is disconnected. Air conditioners are now a necessity and frequent power disruptions are a major inconvenience.”

The power corporation officials said that most connections in the city are decades old. At the time they were installed, households had minimal electrical appliances, so the sanctioned load was much lower. Adding to the crisis is a shortage of manpower, which is making it increasingly difficult for the power corporation to handle the large number of complaints.

“Today, many homes have multiple air conditioners, but consumers have not updated their sanctioned load. The infrastructure in each area is designed based on the approved load for that locality,” an official explained.

As the heatwave continues to grip the city, residents are struggling to cope with the frequent power outages. With temperatures expected to rise further, the city’s power grid is likely to come under even more strain and residents in affected areas may continue to face disruptive outages.