Gusty winds cost over ₹1 crore to Ludhiana’s power infrastructure

Around 136 electricity poles and 46 transformers damaged in the city after gusty winds on Thursday night, causing an estimated loss worth ₹1.3 crore to the city’s power infrastructure and plunging several areas into prolonged electricity outages, officials familiar with the matter said.

The harsh winds also led to a surge in complaints. According to officials, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) central zone logged around 6,570 complaints by Friday evening, out of which a staggering 5,230 complaints remain pending to be resolved.

Additionally, PSPCL officials said that the strong winds uprooted trees, snapped branches, and brought down power lines, leading to outages across various parts of the city. Most of the damage was reported from rural belts, including Doraha, Lalton Kalan, Sirhind, and Amloh.

In the Ludhiana city area, Janta Nagar, Aggar Nagar, Model Town, Giaspura, and Bahadur Ke Road remained among the worst hits. In the City West division alone, which covers Bahadur Ke Road, around 15 feeders were affected, disrupting the power supply.

Officials stated that most feeders were impacted due to the snapping of electricity wires caused by uprooted trees and falling branches. To prevent any mishap or electrocution, the power supply across the city was proactively switched off around 8.30 pm for 10 to 15 minutes on Thursday after the winds picked up. However, the major disruptions were witnessed later, around 12.30 am, after a second and stronger wave of gusty winds struck the region.

Sukaran Grewal, executive engineer (XEN) of the Estate Division, said that in Giaspura, a technical glitch in the 66 KV Kanganwal substation led to the breakage of main coils, disrupting power supply to several industrial units located near Rudra Enclave.

He further added, “Around six feeders in our division were affected. After the strong winds around 12.30 am, both 66 KV and 220 KV transmission lines had to be shut down. However, power was completely restored by 1.30 pm on Friday. Restoration work on the transmission lines of the affected substation is still underway and will be completed at the earliest.”