Goa Power Cut on March 18: Parts of Panjim to Face Over 7-Hour Outage from 9:30 AM to 5 PM

Power supply will be suspended in parts of Panjim on March 18 from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM due to preventive maintenance work, officials said. According to the Electricity Department, the shutdown is necessary to carry out maintenance on the 630 KVA Samrat Transformer located at St. Inez.

Areas likely to be affected include Sandeep Apartments, Muslim Wado, the Bullet Showroom area, Mahalaxmi Apartments, Prasad Co-operative Housing Society, Ashirwad Building, the Municipal Building, the Old Education Department Office, Ward No. 23 (St. Inez), and nearby localities. Residents in these areas have been advised to make necessary arrangements in advance to avoid inconvenience during the scheduled outage.

Meanwhile, in a parallel development, the Goa government has announced plans to strengthen its power infrastructure and reduce electricity costs. The state aims to install Battery Energy Storage Systems with a total capacity of 1000 MWhr across substations by FY 2029-30. Power Minister Ramkrishna Dhavalikar said the systems will store electricity during the day and supply it during peak evening hours, helping reduce expensive power purchases.

Goa currently depends heavily on electricity sourced from other states, as it does not operate its own large-scale power generation plants. The government is also promoting rooftop solar installations under net metering and exploring power banking mechanisms to better manage supply and demand while keeping tariffs stable.