Bengaluru’s power cuts drop by 15%: Data

Bengaluru: The city’s power cuts dropped close to 15%, compared to 2022, despite shortage and surging demand.

Data accessed by DH has revealed that Bengaluru has seen 554.8 hours of power interruption till October 2023, while disruption during the same period last year was 652.5 hours. A few other power cuts have been less than a minute.

Disruptions have been particularly low during the rainy season when the city received poor rainfall. “Power cuts during the rainy season were mostly due to infrastructure damage. Lower rains and wind this year meant damage to poles and other infrastructure was minimal. As a result, power disruptions have also come down,” a Bescom official explained.

Another official noted that the duration of the interruptions could have been much lower if not for the surge in demand. Many of the interruptions had been attributed to an increased load.

“The infrastructure cannot handle increased demand, especially in the summer when the load surge tripped many systems, causing power cuts,” the official added.

Bescom’s efforts to lay underground power cables also yielded good results, officials noted. "In 2022, only 70% of the project was completed. In 2023, however, we have completed 90% of the work and as a result, power disruptions have also come down,” an official added.

Deploying technology like the Distribution Automation System (DAS) has also helped identify and rapidly fix faults.

“Deploying DAS in the city’s core areas meant we could detect the faults early,” a senior Bescom official explained.

DAS is also being implemented in other areas to improve the quality of power supply, the official mentioned.