Mumbai's Power Grid Crackles: 1,200 Cable Faults Demand Urgent Fix

Mumbai is experiencing frequent power outages, primarily in south Mumbai, due to issues with its aging underground cable network. Officials have identified approximately 1,200 locations where immediate repairs are necessary to address faults in decades-old cables. These affected areas include Marine Lines, Girgaon, Bhuleshwar, and Dadar, impacting over a million electricity consumers.

The primary obstacle to these critical repairs is the need for permission from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to excavate concrete roads. Unlike asphalt, concrete roads require multiple approvals for digging. Despite discussions, the BMC has yet to grant the necessary permissions, though they recently allowed the laying of 120 km of new cables.

The power utility plans to spend ₹20 crore on this network overhaul, with repair work expected to take six to eight months. They attribute the recent surge in outages to the aging infrastructure, increased power demand, heatwaves, and redevelopment. To improve response times, the utility is also hiring nearly 690 field workers and reassigning staff from its transport wing.

In the past year, the utility received over 7,500 power-related complaints, a significant increase from the previous year, with a sharp rise during the summer. The situation has led to a debate in the Maharashtra assembly, where the utility assured legislators that operational shortcomings would be addressed within six months.