Heat triggers power outages in Lucknow

Lucknow: Large parts of Lucknow. including the posh Gomtinagar area, continued to face electricity disruptions over the past two to three days as rising temperatures led to transformer overloads, transmission line breakdowns and repeated technical faults across multiple zones of the city, even on Tuesday.

The worst affected area was Fazullaganj, where residents experienced prolonged and erratic power supply after a 630 KVA transformer near​ Rashtrakuta temple became overloaded on the nights of May 17-18 due to a sudden surge in electricity demand.

According to Jankipuram zone chief VP Singh, repeated fuse failures at the transformer triggered outages in several localities.

“The situation worsened after some residents gathered at the substation and disrupted repair work. Increased load on nearby transformers also caused repeated tripping and short circuits in several LT lines, leading to cascading power failures in adjoining areas,” said Singh.

On the night of May 18-19, the field team of the Jankipuram zone attempted to stabilise supply by installing an additional 400 KVA trolley transformer alongside the existing transformer. However, repair work was again interrupted after unrest at the substation reportedly prevented staff from carrying out restoration work smoothly. Police personnel were also deployed to bring the situation under control, following which supply was gradually restored.

During the day, load balancing was undertaken on affected lines in Faizullaganj to stabilise electricity distribution.

Apart from Faizullaganj, several other parts of Lucknow witnessed power breakdowns on Tuesday. In the Jankipuram zone, a wire snapped on the 33 KV Itaunja line around 4:40 am, disrupting supply for nearly 45 minutes. Soon after, another breakdown occurred on the 33 KV Khurramnagar-Mahanagar line, forcing the on-duty power team to divert supply through the Gomtinagar source. Due to excess load on the alternate arrangement, three feeders had to be placed under rostering while patrolling and fault detection work continued.

Earlier in the day, the second 33 KV line of Niralanagar power house connected to the 132 KV Khurramnagar station also developed a fault. Supply was restored through alternate arrangements while repairs continued. Maintenance shutdowns were also carried out on the Mishrpur feeder of the GPRA substation.

An emergency shutdown also occurred at Ahibaranpur substation in the evening hours after damage to the incoming current transformer of a 10 MVA transformer, disrupting electricity supply to Triveninagar, Kadam Rasul and CSDS feeders for two hours.

In the Mahanagar area, supply under the 11 KV Wireless feeder was disrupted after transformer leads were damaged, while in Gomtinagar zone, power supply in Sector 4 under the Chinhat substation remained affected for around 30 minutes due to ongoing power related work.

​Supply of power also continued to face regular glitches in residential and commercial areas of Meerabai Marg in Hazratganj of central zone, as well as in areas of Vridavan Yojana and Uttrahtia​, Alambagh division of Amausi zone, Gomtinagar extension (Shipra apartment) and Eldeco Green area of Gomtinagar zone.

Later in the night, local residents staged a protest against power cuts in Nadarganj (Ambedkar power house), RDSO power house, Rajajipuram Saripur sub-station of Amausi zone.

Power supply from the Shakuntala Mishra University sub‑center and Jahidnagar transformer also remained shut for over three hours till late night, leaving Bhata Mau and nearby areas suffering in extreme heat.

Meanwhile in another late night incident, heavy load caused short circuit and fire broke out at electric pole near Trikoneshwar temple Bandha in Triveninagar.

Box

Kakori residents protest at FCI power house over four-day power crisis

Residents of Janata Vihar Colony in Kakori, have been facing a severe electricity crisis for the past four days, receiving only two to three hours of power daily along with persistent low‑voltage issues.

Amid intense summer heat and resulting water shortages, angry consumers surrounded the FCI power house on Tuesday night and staged a protest. Protesters said the power house gate remained closed and no electricity staff appeared to address their grievances.

Police arrived at the spot and tried contacting power officials, but their phones were allegedly switched off.

Residents, including Amit Kumar, Ramesh Rajput, Shivam Gautam and others, said repeated complaints had gone unresolved. They also shared problems with an overloaded transformer and faulty wiring. Police later told protesters that efforts were being made by power department to restore electricity supply by 2 am.