Outages hit 8 substations, Gurgaon goes dark, metro operations affected

Gurgaon: Large parts of Gurgaon were thrown into darkness on Friday evening when a fault at a 220kV substation in Sector 72 knocked out supply across multiple areas at the worst possible time — with the city reeling from searing heat, temperatures touching 42.7°C and power demand having hit an all-time high just a day earlier. The blackout also disrupted Rapid Metro services, leaving commuters stranded and forcing many to walk along the tracks to reach nearby stations.For thousands of residents, the outage meant stifling homes, stalled lifts, dead fans and air-conditioners, and the prospect of a long, sleepless night. The disruption rippled across the city’s power network, affecting eight substations in total, while the metro outage added to the chaos during peak evening hours.The disruption began after a transformer in one of the circuits at the Sector 72 substation developed a fault around 7pm, triggering a shutdown and a cascading impact on downstream substations. Supply was hit across substations in sectors 38, 44, 46, 52, 56, 15 and the Maruti plant, affecting large stretches of Golf Course Road, Sohna Road, MG Road, Palam Vihar and parts of sectors 15, 38, 44, 45, 46, 47, 50, 51, 52, 56 and 57.Discom officials said teams were trying to isolate and repair the fault while exploring load-sharing through nearby substations to restore supply in phases. “Our teams are working on the fault, but repairs may take several hours,” an official said.KK Sarkar, superintending engineer at HVPNL, said, “The disruption was caused by a technical malfunction. Teams are on the ground and supply will be restored at the earliest.”For residents, the timing made the outage especially brutal. On Thursday, the city recorded its highest-ever power demand at 2,372 MW, surpassing previous peaks, as temperatures stayed above 40°C through the week. On Friday, the mercury climbed to 42.7°C, with IMD issuing an orange alert for heatwave to severe heatwave conditions in Haryana from May 24 to 27.“It’s impossible to sleep in this heat. The power has been out since evening and we have no idea when it will return,” said Amit Sharma, a resident of Sector 46.In Sector 56, Ritu Arora said repeated tripping had already damaged appliances. “This complete blackout is the worst we’ve seen this summer,” she added.Even in societies with backup, residents said relief came at a price. “Generator backup is expensive. During long cuts, societies burn huge amounts of diesel and the bills go up,” said Sumit Anand of Sushant Lok.The outage also disrupted Rapid Metro services during peak evening hours. A Delhi Metro official said the power supply failure from HVPNL’s Sector 72 substation, which feeds Rapid Metro and the Gurgaon section of Yellow Line, halted Rapid Metro train services from 7.50pm to 8.33pm.Commuters were stranded inside trains and at stations. After being stuck for some time, some passengers stepped out and walked along the tracks to reach nearby stations. In a video shared by commuters, people were seen walking on the metro tracks. “We stepped out of the metro and walked to the nearest station,” said a commuter.However, services on the Yellow Line were regulated through a standby substation and continued to run normally during this period. Rapid Metro services resumed once power supply was restored through the Sector 72 substation.“I’ve been waiting for 30 minutes. Some people have already left to find other means of transport,” said commuter Saket Kumar.The blackout came just two days after a fire at the Sector 9 substation caused a nearly nine-hour outage for around 1,500 families in three societies — Parina Laxmi Apartment and Parina Coban in Sector 99A, and BPTP Amstoria in Sector 102. Residents said the back-to-back failures had exposed the fragility of the city’s power network at a time of extreme weather and soaring demand.“Every summer it’s the same story — faults, fires and long cuts. The system clearly cannot handle the load,” said Naveen Batra of Sector 52.