Power restored in Himachal's Pangi after 2-week outage due to avalanche
Students, small business owners and households were among the worst hit, struggling to manage routine activities without power
After two weeks of prolonged power outage, electricity was restored across several panchayats in the tribal Pangi valley following the resumption of power generation from the Sach mini hydel project.
The disruption occurred on March 22 when 900-kW micro hydroelectric power project at Sach suffered extensive damage after an avalanche struck in the area, disrupting its channel and halting power generation completely.
The situation aggravated after damage caused to the Thirot-Sach transmission line, which had been snapped at multiple locations due to landslides and shifting glaciers, cutting off external power supply as well.
The damage had led to a prolonged blackout in large parts of the valley, leaving residents without reliable electricity supply for days.
The outage affected daily life across the remote region, with residents facing significant hardships. Students, small business owners and households were among the worst hit, struggling to manage routine activities without power. Though limited electricity was supplied to some areas through mini projects in Killar, Purthi and Sural, it remained insufficient to meet the overall demand of more than 3MW leading to several panchayats remaining in dark for more than a fortnight. Many households relied on solar backups but these offer only limited relief.
Amid challenging terrain, inclement weather and technical constraints, engineers, technical staff and contractors carried out round-the-clock operations. They cleared the debris, repaired the damaged channel, restored transmission lines and secured the powerhouse.
Power generation from the Sach mini hydel projects resumed on Friday, leading to the restoration of electricity supply in the region. The development has brought much-needed relief to residents, with normal life gradually returning to track.
Locals said the restoration of power did not only bring light back to the homes but helped revive essential services such as mobile connectivity, small-scale industries and children’s education.
Executive Engineer Suresh Chandel said, “Teams were deployed immediately after reports of the avalanche were received. Despite adverse conditions, the restoration work was completed successfully due to coordinated efforts and timely response.”
