District reels under power outages after storm

Ludhiana: Strong wind and rain on Sunday morning disrupted power supply across large swathes of the district, affecting both urban and rural areas. The storm also caused damage to infrastructure belonging to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), leading to prolonged outages in several localities.One of the main power sub-stations located in the Lalton area was hit by high-speed winds and rainfall. PSPCL officials said the severe weather damaged multiple transmission towers and overhead power lines, resulting in interruptions that lasted up to 10 hours in some areas.Sources in the power department said the exact extent of infrastructure damage had not yet been assessed. However, based on the situation on the ground and the scale of disruption, officials indicated that losses could run into crores of rupees. Thousands of complaints were received from consumers during the day, adding to the pressure on field staff.Local residents expressed frustration over spending the entire day without stable electricity. The lack of power caused inconvenience in accessing basic necessities. Residents reported difficulty operating water filtration systems and electric motors used for drawing water. Household chores were also affected, with many people unable to use essential appliances through the day.Manvinder Kumar, executive engineer (XEN) at the Lalton Kalan power substation, said extreme weather conditions can cause widespread damage in a very short span of time. "We cannot compete against nature. Even five minutes of severe weather can result in heavy losses to power infrastructure," he said.He added that the department received complaints from various parts of Ludhiana simultaneously and efforts were made to resolve them on priority. "Around 40 officials were deployed in my area alone. The process of attending to faults and restoring supply took about 10 to 12 hours as there were several major cases," Kumar said.He added that assessing infrastructure damage and compiling complaint figures would be done later, as the department's immediate focus was on restoring power supply and ensuring that consumer complaints were resolved.PSPCL officials said restoration work continued until late evening in some pockets, with teams monitoring the situation to prevent further disruptions if weather conditions worsened again.Worst hit areas According to officials, electricity supply was affected in areas like Dehlon, Gill, Pakhowal, Lalton and several other parts of the city Residents from these localities began lodging complaints early in the morning as the power outage continued for most of the day PSPCL teams remained busy throughout Sunday addressing faults and restoring supply.