Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, May 27: Residents across several parts of Mumbai continue to face recurring power outages, with fresh disruptions reported on Wednesday from areas including Dadar West, Lalbaug, Byculla, Grant Road West, Andheri West, Malad, and Goregaon.

According to residents, the outages have become a near-daily occurrence over the past week, severely affecting daily life during humid weather conditions when fans, coolers, and air-conditioning are essential.

People living in affected localities said the frequent interruptions are not only causing discomfort but also disrupting basic services within residential buildings. Several societies reported malfunctioning lifts and water pumps during outages, creating major difficulties for senior citizens, children, and residents living on upper floors.

“It’s not just the lights going out. When the lift stops and the water pump doesn’t function, the entire building comes to a halt,” said a resident from central Mumbai, noting that the irregular timing of the outages has made it difficult for families to prepare in advance.

The disruptions come at a time when the city’s electricity demand has surged sharply due to rising temperatures. On Tuesday, Mumbai’s peak power demand reportedly crossed 4,500 MW, reaching approximately 4,558 MW, placing additional pressure on the distribution network.

Residents from western suburbs also voiced frustration on social media, complaining about prolonged outages and inadequate customer support from utility providers.

One resident from Malad posted online that their building had experienced power cuts lasting up to four hours repeatedly over the past week and claimed that customer care numbers remained unanswered despite multiple attempts.

Another resident complained that outages had been occurring almost every alternate day for nearly a month, demanding urgent repairs and a permanent solution to the issue.

In Goregaon, residents reported repeated nighttime and afternoon outages amid ongoing heatwave conditions, with some claiming that electricity supply had been disrupted since early morning hours.

Civic activists and residents criticised what they described as temporary fixes by power utilities, arguing that the recurring nature of the outages points to deeper infrastructure and maintenance problems within Mumbai’s power distribution system.

They also highlighted the increasing frequency of outage alerts issued by electricity providers, many of which cite “high tension load in the area” as the primary cause.

As of Wednesday evening, there was no official statement regarding the latest outages. In previous instances, utility companies had attributed disruptions to cable faults, feeder failures, and transformer tripping.

However, many residents believe the repeated breakdowns indicate broader capacity constraints and insufficient infrastructure upgrades, especially during periods of peak summer demand.