Residents of Bhagyodaynagar in Pune’s Kondhwa area are enduring repeated power outages lasting two to three hours every alternate day, as an overloaded distribution panel continues to malfunction. The recurring electricity failures have affected nearly 1,000 households, with no immediate resolution in sight.
For months, citizens in the locality have been grappling with irregular supply as short circuits and faulty wiring disrupt entire neighbourhoods. According to officials, the issue stems from an overburdened distribution panel that trips under excessive demand. While a new unit was installed earlier this year, it remains non-functional, prolonging the residents’ ordeal. The repeated disruptions are not limited to one or two housing societies. Entire stretches of residential clusters have been left in the dark, sometimes for hours, forcing families to adjust their routines around sudden blackouts. Residents complain that despite registering grievances, the repairs are largely ad hoc, with teams arriving only after failures occur.
An official from the state electricity utility confirmed that the new panel will require at least another month to become fully operational. “Some additional technical work is underway. Once completed, the problem will ease,” the official said. However, residents argue that the lack of urgency has left them with little confidence in timelines. The outages are not only an inconvenience but also a growing economic burden. With more people working remotely, the absence of backup inverters has led to interruptions in professional commitments. Students too have been struggling to keep pace with online learning schedules when outages hit. Residents say that while occasional load shedding is manageable, unpredictable and prolonged blackouts directly impact livelihoods.
Experts in the energy sector point to rising urban demand as a recurring stress point in rapidly growing cities like Pune. Localities such as Kondhwa have witnessed a sharp rise in residential development, putting unprecedented strain on legacy infrastructure. “Without systematic upgrades and decentralised energy planning, outages will continue to plague residents,” one energy consultant explained. This situation underscores a deeper challenge facing Indian cities — balancing rising consumption with sustainable supply. While authorities recently added two 22KV power lines to strengthen distribution across Kondhwa and neighbouring areas, the current delays highlight gaps in execution.
Residents are calling for faster commissioning of the new system and exploring long-term solutions like renewable energy integration and community-level backup facilities. For many, the demand goes beyond immediate relief; it is about ensuring equitable and reliable access to power in fast-urbanising neighbourhoods. Until then, Bhagyodaynagar’s families continue to live with uncertainty, often planning their days around whether or not the lights will stay on.
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