Uttar Pradesh Reels Under Massive Power Crisis Amid Scorching Heatwave

Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, is battling an intense heatwave, and the worsening electricity crisis has pushed daily life across the state into chaos.

From major cities to remote villages, residents are struggling with prolonged power cuts, fluctuating voltage, and repeated technical breakdowns at a time when temperatures continue to soar relentlessly.

With neither daytime nor nighttime bringing any relief from the oppressive heat, people are being forced to endure sleepless nights and exhausting days without adequate electricity.

The situation has become particularly alarming because electricity demand in the state has reached unprecedented levels. On Thursday alone, Uttar Pradesh recorded a supply of 656.6 million units of electricity in a single day, surpassing last year’s highest-ever record of 655.9 million units.

Officials expect the demand to rise even further in the coming days as the heatwave intensifies.

On Friday, the state’s peak electricity demand touched 29,439.02 megawatts at around 2 pm, while even during the evening hours, the demand remained extraordinarily high at over 25,230 megawatts.

The sustained pressure on the power infrastructure has exposed serious weaknesses in the state’s supply and distribution system.

Across several districts, overloaded transmission lines and infrastructure failures are becoming increasingly common.

Aerial Bunched Cables (ABC) are reportedly burning out under excessive load, short circuits are occurring frequently, and transformers are failing at an alarming rate.

According to power department estimates, nearly 800 transformers are getting damaged every day across the state. Repair work often takes several hours, leaving entire neighborhoods without electricity for long periods.

In many places, families are being forced to sit through unbearable heat without fans, coolers, or air conditioners, worsening public frustration.

The deteriorating power situation has also triggered political concern and criticism. BJP MLA from Lucknow East, OP Srivastava, has written to the state’s Energy Minister highlighting the worsening condition of electricity supply and the hardships being faced by residents.

Before him, Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey and BJP legislators Rajeshwar Singh and Neeraj Bora had also raised concerns regarding the failing infrastructure and prolonged outages.

The growing number of complaints from both citizens and elected representatives has significantly increased pressure on the power department.

State Energy Minister AK Sharma has acknowledged the strain on the electricity network, stating that the unprecedented rise in consumption due to the severe heatwave has created extraordinary challenges for the department.

He said that despite limited electricity availability from generation centers, the government is attempting to maintain an uninterrupted supply by procuring power from multiple external sources.

However, on the ground, consumers say the relief measures have made little visible difference.

The volume of complaints has become so overwhelming that electricity helplines are struggling to respond effectively, with many callers reportedly waiting for hours without receiving assistance.

The crisis is particularly severe in districts such as Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Mirzapur, and Fatehpur, where residents describe the outages as “abnormal” and far beyond routine disruptions.

Frustration among consumers has reached a boiling point, leading to repeated confrontations between angry residents and power department personnel at substations and local offices.

In several incidents, consumers allegedly surrounded Junior Engineers (JEs) and forced them to remain seated among protesting residents while demanding immediate restoration of the electricity supply.

People across these districts argue that the power department should have been adequately prepared for the summer surge in demand, especially since such spikes in electricity consumption are a recurring phenomenon every year during peak heat conditions.

Consumers accuse the department of poor planning and failing to upgrade infrastructure despite repeated warnings and past experiences.

There is also growing resentment over the alleged use of substandard equipment and low-quality materials during repair and maintenance work.

Residents claim that faulty cables, weak transformers, and poor-quality accessories are leading to repeated breakdowns and recurring technical faults.

Many believe that if the department had invested in stronger infrastructure and better-quality equipment in advance, the scale of the current crisis could have been significantly reduced.

For now, the combination of extreme heat and relentless power outages has made life miserable for millions across Uttar Pradesh, with many residents saying the crisis has exposed the fragile condition of the state’s electricity infrastructure at the worst possible time.