Power outages ease in Mohali after three months of frequent blackouts

Punjab State Power Corporation Limited says Mohali is nearing the end of the outage-heavy phase of its power upgrade, after about three months of frequent blackouts. (hindustantimes.com) PSPCL deputy chief engineer Harpreet Singh Oberoi told Hindustan Times that most work under the state’s Roshan Punjab programme in Mohali has been completed. He said the remaining work is the “last leg” focused on local transformers and low-tension network strengthening. (hindustantimes.com) The statewide programme is valued at ₹5,000 crore, and officials told the paper Mohali accounts for about ₹900 crore of that total. Oberoi said nearly ₹300 crore has gone to low-tension and 11 kV networks, and about ₹600 crore to 66 kV lines and grid substations. (hindustantimes.com) The work was meant to deal with rising demand in a fast-growing city. PSPCL said Mohali’s peak consumption in June and July last year was nearly 350 megawatts a day, with annual growth running at 15% to 20%. (hindustantimes.com) That load increase pushed the utility to add feeders, transformers and stronger distribution lines in areas such as Aerocity and Eco City. Oberoi said the upgrade was needed to “unload the system” before heavier summer demand arrives. (hindustantimes.com) The easing in Mohali comes just after a fresh round of scheduled cuts across Punjab from April 21 to April 26. Hindustan Times reported those shutdowns were set for 8 to 10 hours a day in cities including Mohali, while The Indian Express said notices in six cities listed outages ranging from three to nine hours. (hindustantimes.com) (indianexpress.com) The timing drew anger because temperatures were already near 38°C to 40°C and the India Meteorological Department had issued a heatwave alert. Punjab’s peak power demand also crossed 10,000 MW this season on April 23, reaching 10,105 MW, according to Hindustan Times. (hindustantimes.com) Engineers and opposition politicians questioned why maintenance was being pushed in late April instead of winter, when demand is lower. PSPCL and Punjab power minister Sanjeev Arora said the outages were planned, publicised in advance and aimed at preventing breakdowns during peak summer and paddy season demand. (indianexpress.com) (hindustantimes.com) Mohali’s upgrade push did not start this week. In October 2025, The Indian Express reported a ₹728-crore district plan for SAS Nagar that included 14 new grid substations, new 11 kV feeders and a 31.5 MVA transformer at the 66 kV IT City substation. (indianexpress.com) For residents and businesses, the immediate change is smaller than a promise of instant 24x7 power: PSPCL says the heaviest shutdown phase is ending, and the remaining work is now concentrated at the neighborhood level. (hindustantimes.com)