Bawankule slams MSEDCL for power cuts

Nagpur: Mounting outages and frequent power tripping across Nagpur have drawn a sharp response from revenue and former energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who on Monday held Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) responsible, citing deep-rooted administrative failures within the utility.Terming the situation "unacceptable", Bawankule said there is no electricity shortage in the state, yet consumers are being subjected to repeated disruptions. "If power is available but not reaching people reliably, the fault clearly lies in the system," he said, pointing to lapses at multiple levels — from wiremen and technical staff to deputy and executive engineers.The criticism comes amid a surge in demand during peak summer, which has put immense pressure on the already stretched distribution network. Recurring outages and voltage fluctuations have been reported from several regions, including Nagpur.TOI has consistently flagged how rising load on ageing infrastructure has exposed weaknesses in MSEDCL's network, triggering frequent tripping incidents.Bawankule, who is also the guardian minister of Nagpur and Amravati, indicated that accountability will be fixed. He said a high-level meeting of power utility officials and engineers has been convened to address the issue, and discussions will also be held with CM Devendra Fadnavis.He acknowledged that shortcomings in last-mile distribution are forcing citizens to bear the brunt despite adequate generation capacity. Highlighting another concern, Bawankule pointed to flaws in solar power utilisation. While solar energy is being used during the day, the absence of proper banking of these units for night-time consumption is adding to consumers' billing burden.Sending a clear warning, the minister said the energy dept will now move to tighten oversight and strengthen the distribution backbone. "Concrete corrective measures will be implemented to ensure reliable supply," he said, underlining that MSEDCL's functioning will be under close scrutiny as the state grapples with soaring power demand.
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