Thundershowers in Delhi uproot trees, disrupt power supply

Power supply in some areas of the national capital was disrupted with early Saturday morning thundershowers uprooting trees and snapping branches that damaged electricity lines and poles, officials said.

Electricity supply in areas, including Fatehpur Beri, Sainik Farms, Chattarpur, Mundka, Najafgarh, Dwarka, Mahipalpur, Suraj Mal Vihar, Baljeet Nagar and Dilshad Garden, was disrupted at various lengths of time due to the rains, they said.

The morning thundershowers led to a few instances of power disruptions in the affected areas in the city. These disruptions were primarily due to damage to overhead electricity lines, poles and transformers caused by uprooting of trees and breaking of their branches, the officials said.

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The combination of wet and swinging tree branches close to overhead cables is also a safety hazard and can cause short circuits, sparking and power outages, said a discom official.

A BSES spokesperson said discoms BROL and BYPL were on high alert to deal with the situation and pressed quick response teams (QRTs) into service.

Power supply was restored quickly in most of the areas. It took a little longer than usual for restoring electricity in some areas as tree cutting and removal is a time-taking process, he added.

Gusty winds, thunderstorm and heavy rain hit the city in the early hours of Saturday and the power supply was affected in several parts of north Delhi, said a spokesperson of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL).

The storm caused damages to the electrical network, leading to power disruption due to falling of trees and branches on the overhead electricity lines and poles, he said.

It took some time for the discom to restore normal power supply in places like Swatantra Nagar, Gautam Colony, Kohat Enclave and Mangolpuri Industrial area where large trees had fallen on power equipment, the TPDDL spokespersons said.

However, electricity was soon restored in all the areas affected by the storm and rain, he said.

Dedicated teams and vehicles have been strategically deployed at various places to cater to any emergency, the spokesperson said.

Additionally, adequate inventory of essential spare parts, tools and equipment including transformers and switchgear has been ensured to minimise the restoration time towards power interruptions, he added.