Many areas in Chandigarh on Monday witnessed power cuts for around eight hours, causing inconvenience to residents and shopkeepers. The power department said the blackout was due to Diwali preparation, fixing and checking of loose points to ensure no power cuts during the festive season.
Chandigarh Chief Engineer of Power Department, CB Ojha said the city’s current peak demand is hovering around 240 MW and the department has adequate power supply arrangements. He said some states may be resorting to power cuts due to shortage of fuel to run their coal-based plants.
He said that officials at local power stations may impose power cuts due to festival preparation or other reasons for fixing and checking loose points.
This is done so that there is no major power crisis during festive days and people don’t have to face inconvenience during that time, Ojha said, adding that Chandigarh receives power from the central generating stations, state generating stations and independent power producers through long-term power purchase agreements and short-term purchases (through exchange, bilateral purchases among others).
Power Department officials said that they received complaints of power cuts from many areas of the city, including Sectors 44, 46, 48 and others. “Repair and maintenance work has started in the city so that no power cuts occur anywhere during the festive season”, he added.
