Pune Power Outage: City Faces Severe Power Disruptions Due to Pre-Monsoon Rains and Flooding

Pune city welcomed their first pre-monsoon rains and the problems that people face during it. In first rain city faced normal problems like power outrage.  Over 10,000 residents of Dhanori, Kalas, Vishrantwadi, Tingre Nagar and Lohegaon areas experienced power outage between five and 12 hours after pre-monsoon rains.

Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) initially claimed that it would restore power within two to three hours. As per the Met department, not only were many areas flooded, but there were also incidents of trees and branches falling on overhead cables, leading to power disruption in several areas.

While power was restored in some parts of Vishrantwadi, Dhanori, Khese Park and Porwal Road, there was an outage again around midnight after which power was restored not before Wednesday early morning. Meanwhile, a high-pressure feeder pillar of the MSEDCL caught fire at around 11 am on Wednesday, June 5, supposedly due to a gas leak from a nearby Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL) pipeline. The incident, which occurred near Bishop’s School in Ramwadi, caused a 45-minute power outage for about 3,500 customers.

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The feeder pillar, located at Kalyaninagar near Bishop’s School, serves as a backup power source. The fire broke out due to a gas leak from a nearby MNGL pipeline, spreading to the feeder pillar and causing the power line in the sub-centre to trip. MSEDCL engineers and employees responded promptly, shutting off the power supply and isolating the underground channels of the feeder pillar. After securing the area, they restarted the power line in the sub-station, restoring power after 45 minutes. The MSEDCL filed a police complaint regarding the incident.

Meanwhile, it is learned that MNGL is not responsible for the MSEDCL feeder pillar at Kalyani Nagar catching fire. Turns out the MSEDCL feeder pillar caught fire 30 minutes before damage to the MNGL channel.