A widespread power outage has affected more than 52,000 electricity users of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) across the Ganeshkhind and Pune rural divisions after a critical fault occurred in an underground cable on Sunday afternoon
While supply to most of the low-voltage consumers was restored during the early hours of Monday, industrial consumers are still facing prolonged disruptions. Representational pic
The Hinjewadi IT Park area in Pune has witnessed major power outages since Sunday afternoon.
The widespread power outage affected more than 52,000 electricity users across the Ganeshkhind and Pune rural divisions of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) after a critical fault occurred in an underground cable on Sunday afternoon. While supply to most of the low-voltage consumers was restored during the early hours of Monday, industrial consumers are still facing prolonged disruptions, informed the officials.
While, the disruption began around 2.10 pm on Sunday, shortly after the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MahaTransco) completed routine maintenance on a 220 kV underground line connecting the Infosys and Pegasus substations near Hinjewadi Phase-2 Metro Station. The fault led to an immediate collapse of power supply to large sections of the network, the officials further said.
IT sector operations disrupted, employees asked to work from home
Major IT firms in Hinjewadi were significantly impacted. The Forum for IT Employees (FITE) stated that power supply to industrial units may not resume until Wednesday. As a precautionary measure, companies have either activated backup power or permitted their staff to work from home.
Surabhi Singh, an IT employee said, "We got the mail in the morning regarding the option to opt to work from home till Wednesday."
Meanwhile, As the MSEDCL started the work on Sunday, the road excavation work along the Wipro Circle to Quadron stretch has been restricted to a single one lane, creating traffic congestion in the area.
Col Salkar Shankar, head of transport at Hinjewadi Industries Association (HIA), said, "The power fault was reported on Sunday afternoon. At 11 am on Sunday, the authorities informed us to communicate with employees about work from home. After the MSEDCL started the work, a huge traffic jam was witnessed near the Wipro Circle. The traffic police have deployed 25 traffic police to restore the traffic. The employees are asked to use Mann Road till July 10."
Some residential areas, especially in Hinjawadi Phase-2 and Phase-3, are receiving partial power through diverted supply. MSEDCL is currently routing 63 MW through alternative paths to minimise the impact.
Residents have voiced their frustration over the prolonged outage and lack of clear communication.
Swapnil Shinde, an IT employee and resident of Hinjewadi, speaking to mid-day.com, said, "In Megapolis, Hinjewadi,there was no power supply from Sunday 11am to Monday 7am. People had no clue when the power supply would be restored. There was no proper communication regarding the ETA. The school declared holiday on Monday due to power outages and rain. Even online classes were not planned due to uncertainty over electric supply."
Meanwhile, over 20,000 consumers in the Pimpri division and 32,000 in the Mulshi division were affected by this sudden power outage. The areas include Xrbia Society, Kolte Patil Township, Marunji, Maan, Jambe, Nere, and Dattawadi, along with key industrial and IT hubs such as Hinjawadi MIDC, Wipro Circle, Raisoni Park, and the Dohler Company.
MSEDCL assured consumers that teams are working around the clock to restore full service. Authorities have urged citizens and businesses to cooperate during this emergency and to follow traffic and safety advisories in affected zones.
The power distribution utility began rerouting supply through alternate sources and restored electricity to around 2,000 consumers by 10 pm on Sunday. On Monday at 4 pm, the supply was restored to all low-voltage consumers in the affected zones. Around 25 feeders of 22 kV capacity were reactivated, informed officials.
While most residential areas are receiving power through temporary arrangements, many industrial and ultra-high-voltage users remain without supply.
Companies such as Infosys and Nextra are among the 91 high-tension and 2 ultra-high-tension consumers still waiting for restoration of the power.
Officials said MSEDCL requires additional load balancing and infrastructure changes before resuming normal supply to these users.
Sources within MSEDCL confirmed that the outage was caused by a failure in the 220 kV line managed by MahaTransco, which handles transmission to the distribution network. A fault in the incoming transmission line disrupted our ability to supply power to a wide range of consumers.
Though residential users expressed relief after power was gradually restored, many have raised concerns about the reliability of the infrastructure and the coordination between MSEDCL and MahaTransco—particularly in critical economic zones like Hinjewadi.
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