BENGALURU, 23 MAY

Summer showers have cheered up Bengalureans, but the joy was short-lived as frequent power outages have disrupted the lives of residents. While Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) says there are no scheduled cuts, residents claim that their power cut complaints often remain unheard by the officials. A few residents said most of the time BESCOM helpline does not respond and when the complaints are registered, power comes back only after 5-6 hours. Also, the engineers do shoddy repair work resulting in power outages repeating. 

Vasanth Nagar, Jayanagar, HBR Layout, Bannerghatta, Koramangala and BTM Layout are some of the areas that face power cuts frequently. “The power gets cut during the night, making it all the more difficult for us to manage the heat. The power goes out for hours together and sometimes for the whole night as well,” said Rajitha S, a resident of Banashankari.

Bharath Reddy, a resident of Whitefield, said: “My work gets disrupted and meetings get delayed due to power cuts. When we contacted BESCOM, they denied that they had cut the power and instead asked us to check our fuse or circuit of the house. Eventually, we will get the power back after seven to eight hours.”

Sivaranjini Elango S from Lingarajapuram said, “I urge the BESCOM authorities to come up with a permanent solution for these constant power cuts.”

Speaking to Salar News, Arvind Shetty, PRO of BESCOM, said there are no scheduled power cuts or load shedding in the City. The non-scheduled power outages are due to the adverse weather in the City. “The intense heat during peak summer had caused circuit problems and voltage fluctuations, causing frequent power cuts. However, the recent rains have also impacted the power supply. Sometimes, transformers burst, and lines get cut off due to water and wind, leading to outages that can last for hours. These repairs can take a lot of time,” he said.

Bengaluru’s average daily power consumption is between 160 Megawatts (MW) and 200MW, according to BESCOM records. However, during the summer, this demand surges to 500MW or even 700MW daily. The City’s peak power consumption in April 2024 reached 3,820MW, which is a significant jump from the consumption of 3,570MW in the corresponding month last year.

James Philip, a Load Dispatch Centre official, said out-of-age infrastructure and underground cables can cause frequent power cuts. “The constant power outages may be due to the frequent rains as well. Heavy rains and falling of tree branches can snap power lines,” Philip said. 

“If people have any problem with power outages, they can contact our helpline. The 1912 helpline can help the person to immediately get in touch with the BESCOM during power outages and we will look into the matter as soon as possible,” Shetty added —Salar News