NEW DELHI: On Tuesday, Delhi grappled with a dual crisis as an acute power shortage coincided with soaring temperatures. The outage, starting around 2 PM, was triggered by a fire at a power grid in Mandola, Uttar Pradesh, which supplies 1,500 MW to the capital. Power cuts varied in duration, with some areas experiencing blackouts for up to an hour while others were without power for two to three hours.
Daytime temperatures exceeding 43 degrees Celsius exacerbated the situation for residents in ITO, Laxmi Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Jamia, Narela, Model Town, Rohini, Kashmere Gate, Civil Lines, Mukherjee Nagar, Jahangirpuri, Sarita Vihar, and Sukhdev Vihar. The lack of electricity left people enduring the sweltering heat without fans or AC, and other conveniences like lifts and escalators were out of operation.
Sanjay Gupta from Model Town reported, “Several blocks of Model Town had power failure for an hour. The RWA WhatsApp groups started buzzing. Even lifts were out of operation, making it especially difficult for old people to go out or come home.”
BS Vohra, head of the East Delhi RWAs Joint Front, noted that his area was without electricity for over an hour and a half. “The situation has been bad in the past week and worsened today,” he said. “My daughters are studying for their exams, and it was tough for them without electricity.”
The power outage also affected traffic lights, causing jams in some areas. A traffic officer reported that the outage from 2:10 PM to 3:45 PM disrupted signals at ITO, Krishna Nagar, East Azad Nagar, Bihari Colony, and GTB Enclave. Prominent junctions such as Rajghat Crossing, Delhi Gate Crossing, Daryaganj, Guru Nanak Chowk, Ajmeri Gate, Kamala Market, Minto Road, and Deendayal Upadhyaya-Kotla Road were also impacted, along with Kalka Das Marg, Liberty Cinema, Munjal Chowk, Khadda Point, Shadipur Chowk, and Kalinga Chowk. Traffic personnel managed the intersections manually, ensuring a smooth flow without significant congestion.
Power Minister Atishi sought a meeting with Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the chairperson of Power Grid Corporation of India, highlighting the severe consequences of a power failure in the national capital due to a national grid problem. “Very little electricity is produced in Delhi, so we buy electricity from other states. This reaches us through NTPC and PGCIL. It is very worrying that today, the national power infrastructure collapsed,” she said. “If the power infrastructure in the country’s capital fails like this because of the national grid, it can have serious consequences.”
Discom Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, which provides power in north Delhi, claimed it swiftly restored electricity. The company stated that load shedding of 440 MW affected four lakh consumers starting at 2:11 PM. “Almost immediately, alternate supply was arranged from other grids, and supply restoration started by 2:58 PM,” a company statement said.
