A six-hour power outage across several Hadapsar localities disrupted homes, work-from-home schedules, lifts, water supply and small businesses on Thursday, as Maharashtra State Electricity Board carried out scheduled maintenance at the 22kV Phursungi substation.
Power supply was shut from 10am to 4pm in Sasanenagar, Sayyednagar, Fursungi, Bhekrainagar, Gaadital, Papdewasti, Gondhalenagar, Satavwadi, Tukai Tekdi, Hinganemala and Kalepadal, among other areas, according to a message issued by MSEB. Residents had been informed about the planned shutdown a day in advance.
The advance notice, however, did not prevent disruption for households that rely on electricity for cooling, water pumping, lifts and remote work. Residents said the outage extended for almost six hours during a period of intense afternoon heat, making it difficult to manage routine activities and essential tasks.
Somnath Mane, additional executive engineer of the Hadapsar division, said the shutdown was required because equipment at the Extra High Voltage substation needed repair and the work could not be delayed. “This was planned maintenance and service work, as the equipment needed to be repaired and it could not be delayed,” he said.
Mane said the maintenance had to be carried out according to schedule irrespective of the season or electricity demand. He added that the utility restored supply through a back feeder and that there were no power cuts apart from a short period when the supply was interchanged.
Residents, however, reported that the interruption lasted for more than six hours in their areas. Mane said only one feeder had been shut and that the division managed 95% of the load, while the remaining load could not be supported during the work. He also said messages had been sent to residents under the Hadapsar division and that the utility had ensured there were no long-term supply problems.
The outage exposed how a planned interruption at a major substation can quickly affect multiple layers of urban life. In residential societies, inverter systems ran out during the extended shutdown, while lift services stopped. The interruption also affected water supply systems, which depend on electric pumps, and created difficulties for residents living on higher floors.
Shuva Biswas, a Sasanenagar resident, said the outage disrupted her work and left children at home struggling in the heat. She said the society’s inverter eventually stopped working, cutting lift supply and forcing children and senior citizens to use the stairs.
MSEB has attributed the shutdown to scheduled maintenance at the Phursungi substation. The utility’s stated next step is to complete such service work while maintaining supply through available feeder arrangements and restoring normal operations after the maintenance window.
