Hyderabad: With the onset of summer, several residents in the city have started facing the heat of power cuts for varied durations. As the Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TSSPDCL) saw an 8% rise in power consumption in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits over the last one month, power cuts in few areas have left residents sweating.
With mercury levels inching closer to the 40 degree Celsius mark, residents are sweating it out with power cuts becoming a regular affair in areas such as Old City, Alkapur Township, Somajiguda and Manikonda, to name a few. Residents rue that frequent power cuts in the name of maintenance work, tree trimming and repair work have started to affect both work from home and online classes for children. “Even today, the power supply was disconnected at 9 am and was restored only by 3 pm. I am working from home and I have children who take online classes. Long power cuts have become a frequent affair and affect our daily routine severely,” said Vijay S, resident of Nagaram.
Many residents also complained of voltage issues. “In a week, there is a power cut of two to four hours on almost two to three days, especially during the weekends, from 11 am to 2 pm. No one from any of the concerned departments has responded to multiple complaints,” said Numan Hashmi, resident of Aliabad in Old City, adding that high voltage has damaged home appliances of people in the vicinity. The social media account of TSSPDCL is flooded with complaints of power disruptions from residents across the city.
“In the last one week, the demand in the city has jumped from 42 million units to 50 million units per day. Increase in the ambient temperature has led to the increase in power consumption. We expect the demand to rise up to 75-80 million units by April-May. This will be almost two million units higher than last summer,” said Srinivas Reddy, director (operations), TSSPDCL.
