Power Outages Hit Worli and Tardeo as Rising Electricity Load Strains Mumbai Network
Residents in the Mumbai island city neighborhoods of Worli and Tardeo experienced fresh power cuts on Monday due to a rising electricity load and cable faults. The supply disruptions hit Worli early in the morning, while Tardeo faced outages later in the afternoon, amid ongoing humid weather and increased demand on the local distribution network.
In Worli, local residents reported power outages lasting from 4:00 AM to 8:00 AM. Meanwhile, in Tardeo, supply disruptions were reported around 4:00 PM, affecting several areas including the Tardeo police station area. These incidents have added to growing complaints from local citizens regarding irregular electricity supply in various pockets of the island city over the past week.
Officials from the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) confirmed that most of the recent outages are linked to cable faults and rising strain on the distribution network. Peak electricity demand within the BEST supply area has recently touched 900 MW to 1,000 MW. This is a significant increase compared to the usual 800 MW to 850 MW recorded on normal days. Currently, BEST caters to around 10.8 lakh consumers across the island city.
To mitigate these issues, the utility has urged residents to update their declared electricity load, particularly after adding air-conditioners and other high-consumption appliances to their households. A senior BEST official explained that consumers can easily submit an online declaration from their homes. This process ensures that their sanctioned load matches their actual electricity usage.
When higher demand is formally recorded by consumers, BEST is able to replace or upgrade local cables. This action helps to improve supply reliability and reduces the likelihood of future outages.
According to sources within BEST, aging underground cables in multiple parts of the island city are increasingly prone to developing faults. To resolve this, a cable replacement programme is currently under way, with about 50 percent of the work completed so far.
