Punjab storms disrupt 1,300 feeders; Rs 8 crore damage recorded
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, May 5, 2026: Punjab Power Minister Sanjeev Arora on Tuesday chaired a high-level review meeting with senior officials of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to assess damage caused by the severe storms that struck the state on May 3 and to evaluate restoration efforts.
The meeting, attended by top PSPCL officials including the chairman, directors and chief engineers, revealed that districts such as Mohali, Patiala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Gurdaspur were among the worst affected.
While the 66 kV transmission network remained largely intact, extensive damage was reported in the distribution system.
Around 1,300 11 kV feeders were disrupted, nearly 1,500 electricity poles were damaged, over 300 transformers were affected, and more than 70 km of high-tension and low-tension lines were hit. One 220 kV transmission tower was also damaged. Officials estimated losses at around ₹8 crore, with outages nearly three times higher than the same period last year.
Despite the scale of disruption, PSPCL teams responded swiftly, attending to over 83,000 complaints across the state. Nearly 70 per cent of these were resolved within two hours, while the remaining cases involved major infrastructure damage requiring more time.
Officials said that continuous monitoring, real-time coordination and extensive feeder patrolling enabled restoration of power supply to all affected areas within 24 hours, either through the main network or alternative arrangements. Repair and strengthening of damaged infrastructure is currently underway.
Taking serious note of the situation, Arora directed officials to strengthen disaster preparedness, undertake preventive maintenance, upgrade infrastructure, and improve response systems and grievance redressal mechanisms.
He stressed zero tolerance for delays in restoring supply during emergencies and asked PSPCL teams to remain fully prepared for extreme weather events in the future.
Reiterating the Punjab Government’s commitment to ensuring reliable and uninterrupted power supply, the minister also lauded PSPCL staff for their round-the-clock efforts under challenging conditions and thanked consumers for their patience during the disruption.