Despite assurances that there will be no power cuts between 6 pm and 6 am in view of the ongoing exam season, power utilities are imposing load-shedding at night as well. Power utilities say not much can be done given the huge power deficit and technical snags that crop up.
Over the last one week, unscheduled power cuts have increased across the city; some areas go without power in the late evening and early morning as well. “We had a five-hour power cut, from 2 am to 7 am, on Wednesday. Not only does it disturb the sleep pattern of people, it is particularly difficult for students preparing for examinations as they want to go through the notes in the morning before heading to the examination centres,” said Bhargava Srinivas who lives in the Mahindra Hills area.
Power utilities had listed night-time power supply during the ongoing examination season as the second priority after seven hours supply to the agricultural sector. But they have not been able to keep their commitment. Central discom officials, however, say the unannounced cuts are mostly due to technical snags like feeder tripping and could not have been foreseen. “We are forced to give load restrictions in case of sudden tripping despite thorough inspections. These technical faults can sometimes go unnoticed and cannot be assessed beforehand. Moreover, since there is a huge power deficit and we have no hydel backup, there are times when there is no other option at all,” said an official.