A fire following an explosion at Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company’s high-voltage substation in Chinchwad disrupted electricity supply to about 310,000 customers across Pimpri-Chinchwad and parts of Pune on Sunday, September 6, while power supply to Pune Metro was also affected for a period.
The incident occurred at around 12:25 p.m. at the Chinchwad substation, where an explosion took place in a 22-kilovolt current transformer and circuit breaker. The resulting fire caused significant damage to electrical equipment, according to information reported by Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company and cited by Loksatta.
The outage affected several areas of Pimpri-Chinchwad, including Pradhikaran, Ravet, Kalewadi, Wakad, Pimple Gurav, Pimple Nilakh, Sangvi, Punawale and Tathawade. Electricity supply was also interrupted for some time in Shivajinagar, Aundh, Ganeshkhind, Senapati Bapat Road, Shivajinagar Gaothan, Model Colony and the Bal Gandharva area.
The affected customers included approximately 260,000 consumers in Pimpri-Chinchwad and the Bhosari area, along with around 50,000 consumers in Shivajinagar, Aundh, Ganeshkhind and adjoining parts of central Pune. The total reported impact was about 310,000 customers.
The fire was brought under control, after which the damaged section of the substation was isolated. Mahavitaran said it was working to restore supply through alternative routes while keeping the affected equipment shut. Power in most areas had been restored through alternate arrangements by about 3 p.m., according to the utility’s statement cited in the report.
The incident also affected electricity supplied from the Chinchwad substation through the Rahatani and Ganeshkhind lines. The Ganeshkhind high-voltage substation, which supplies power to Pune Metro, was also affected. The disruption temporarily interrupted the electricity supply to the metro system, although the report did not provide a detailed operational timeline for the service impact.
In and around Nigdi, Yamunanagar, Bijalinagar, Ravet, Mamurdi, Dehu Road, Chinchwad, Tathawade and Wakad, restoration took longer. Around 125,000 customers in these areas were reported to have experienced disrupted supply.
Talegaon’s electricity supply was restored through an alternative route from Khopoli. However, technical difficulties continued to affect restoration of industrial supply in the area. Power supply to the Ambethan substation was restored at around 4:20 p.m., while the disruption affected an estimated 1,500 industries.
Mahavitaran and Mahatransco teams continued restoration work after isolating the damaged equipment. The utilities’ immediate focus was to return supply through alternative network routes and address the remaining technical constraints affecting industrial and local distribution networks.
