Storm hits power supply in Malwa belt, PSPCL scrambles to restore electricity

Parts of the Malwa belt are without power following the storm. PSPCL officials are in the field to ensure that power supply is restored, but trees have damaged power supply lines. This is the second storm this month that has affected power supply in the districts. The power demand has dipped from over 14,000 MW in the day to around 5,800 MW within hours.

Senior officials said that despite earnest efforts and available manpower, they will not be able to restore complete power supply earlier than Thursday evening. “We have deputed all our resources in the field, but the storm has hit our power supply in urban and rural areas, which will take hours to be restored as many high-power lines have been damaged,” said a top PSPCL official.

Earlier, two thunderstorms in April and May had uprooted or damaged over 500 fully grown trees across many districts in Punjab, hinting at extreme thunderstorms that signal climate change is approaching faster than imagined and is now affecting Punjab as well. The Punjab State Power Corporation has already suffered losses worth crores due to the high-velocity winds.

“In the past two months, PSPCL has suffered losses of over Rs 15 crore, and this storm today will only add to the losses,” said another PSPCL official.

“Our losses due to this storm will be in crores. As for now, our focus is to ensure the restoration of power supply," said a PSPCL engineer.