Why are Chennai residents facing night-time power outages? Here's what the Electricity Board said

CHENNAI: Frequent night-time power outages in Chennai and its suburban areas have triggered complaints from residents, with many alleging that recurring disruptions are affecting sleep and daily life amid soaring temperatures.

Residents in several localities have complained of power cuts occurring during the night, forcing them to remain outdoors for long periods. The issue has led to repeated complaints to Electricity Board offices and the Minnagam grievance centre.

Transformer faults behind outages, says Tangedco

According to Electricity Board officials, the outages are largely being caused by transformer faults and damaged power cables, with the increased use of air conditioners putting additional load on the power distribution network.

Officials said engineers and field staff have been assigned duty at substations from 6 pm to midnight to monitor the situation and attend to complaints without delay.

Several localities affected

On Tuesday night, power outages were reported in parts of Madipakkam, Pallikaranai and Perumbakkam due to transformer faults. A separate outage in Arumbakkam was attributed to a damaged power cable, while residents in Pudupet also experienced disruptions following a transformer fault.

Electricity Board staff were deployed to the affected areas to carry out repair work after receiving complaints from the public.

Additional staff deployed

Tangedco said a total of 95 personnel have been deployed to address public complaints and restore supply at the earliest.

Officials added that instructions have been issued to departmental staff to replace damaged transformers and install new transformers wherever required to prevent further disruptions.

The Electricity Board maintained that complaints received through the Minnagam centre are being attended to promptly and that measures are under way to strengthen the power distribution network in areas witnessing repeated faults.