A pre-dawn thunderstorm left several areas of Ludhiana without electricity for up to 11 hours on Saturday after the 220 kV Ferozepur Road grid tripped and fallen trees damaged transformers and overhead power lines. While the transmission grid was restored before dawn, widespread damage to the distribution network delayed restoration in several areas, with some feeders in the Model Town and Agar Nagar divisions remaining shut till evening.
The first major disruption occurred around 2 am when a technical fault at the 220 kV Ferozepur Road grid interrupted power supply to six key 66 kV substations—Rajguru Nagar, Sarabha Nagar, PAU, DC Complex, Fountain Chowk and Model Town. The fault plunged large parts of the city into darkness for nearly four hours before engineers of the Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited restored the grid around 5.50 am.
Power supply, however, could not be fully normalised as the storm had damaged distribution infrastructure across the city. At the 66 kV Dholewal substation, a tree fell on a 20 MVA transformer around 2.30 am, forcing it to trip. Engineers diverted the electrical load to minimise disruption while repair work continued until around 1 pm, when the transformer was restored.
Elsewhere, fallen trees damaged transformers and overhead lines, triggering localised outages.
A tree collapsed on a distribution transformer near Sandhu Motors under the Estate Division, while several feeders under the Model Town and Agar Nagar divisions remained affected till evening as repair teams worked to restore supply.
The storm triggered a surge in consumer complaints across PSPCL’s central zone, with teams working through the day to clear fallen trees, repair damaged transformers and restore snapped overhead lines.
Chief engineer, central zone, Jagdev Singh Hans, said, “The utility mobilised engineering teams immediately after the storm to restore supply on priority. The storm caused multiple faults after trees fell on transformers and overhead lines. Most areas were restored on priority, while work continued in a few locations where extensive repairs were required,” he said.
Residents in several localities reported prolonged outages and intermittent supply. Ritesh Kumar, a resident of Fountain Chowk, said electricity returned only after sunrise, while Suresh Rawat of Rajguru Nagar said power remained unstable for hours despite restoration work beginning early in the morning.
Officials said a detailed assessment of damage to the distribution network is underway and appealed to consumers to report local faults through the PSPCL helpline for prompt redressal.
