Nagpur: A sudden thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rain lashed Nagpur on the evening of Wednesday, May 21, around 7:50 pm, severely impacting power supply across multiple areas. Strong winds uprooted trees and brought down branches on electric lines in several localities under the jurisdiction of MSEDCL’s Ajni Division, including Savarkar Nagar, Hindustan Colony, and Gawande Layout, resulting in widespread outages.

Swift Restoration Drive by MSEDCL:

Responding to the emergency, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) launched an overnight operation to restore the affected power lines. Restoration work began with the 11kV Gawande Layout feeder, followed by efforts to clear tree branches and energize the 11kV Savarkar Nagar line by 9:30 pm.

The biggest challenge, however, was the 11kV Hindustan Colony feeder. Near Hotel Rosetta Club, the outdoor joint incomer cable of the distribution box was found damaged, along with faults in pin and disc insulators. After several hours of technical repair work, the power supply on this line was successfully restored at around 12:15 am on Thursday.

Transformer Failure at Jattarodi Substation Resolved:

At 7:53 pm on Wednesday, a 10 MVA transformer at the 33kV Jattarodi Substation also failed, causing multiple feeders to shut down. MSEDCL teams swiftly rerouted the supply to the Untkhana feeder from the 11kV Great Nag Road line of the ST Stand substation by 8:40 pm. The 11kV Rajabaksha line, which was also affected by a fallen tree, saw partial restoration at 9:10 pm and full restoration by 11:30 pm. The 11kV Patel Chowk line was rerouted from the Ghat Road feeder by 11:15 pm. Meanwhile, the Medical Chowk feeder was back online by 9:15 pm. The failed 10 MVA transformer at Jattarodi was successfully restarted by 1:44 am on Thursday.

Widespread Impact Across City:

Heavy rain and gusty winds resulted in power disruptions in multiple areas including Tajbagh, Raghuji Nagar, Hanuman Nagar, Chandan Nagar, Antugi Nagar, Swaminarayan Tulsi Nagar, Wadi, Hingna, Khadgaon, Gorewada, Ajni, Gittikhadan, Police Line, Gayatri Nagar, Zingabai Takli, Om Nagar, Kingsway, Clarke Town, Dinshaw, Mental Hospital area, Khamla, Deendayal Nagar, Pension Nagar, Dharampeth, Hilltop, Jayprakash Nagar, and Butibori. In most areas, power was restored within a span of 20 minutes to three hours, despite the ongoing rain.

MSEDCL teams continued clearing fallen branches late into the night to ensure complete restoration.

Apology for Inconvenience:

Acknowledging the inconvenience faced by customers, MSEDCL has issued an apology for the delays caused due to the storm’s impact. Officials noted that the Ajni Division staff worked tirelessly through the night to ensure power supply was restored at the earliest.