The state capital’s gruelling power crisis shows signs of reversal after days of mounting public frustration. A direct intervention by chief minister Yogi Adityanath has sent senior electricity officials into the field, resulting in faster complaint response and visible supply improvements across the city. The transformation became evident Monday as complaints dropped by nearly 20% compared to previous days. Electricity teams reported quicker resolution times, while substations logged fewer grievances than before.
During Sunday’s review meeting on electricity supply, the chief minister had asked officials that sustained monitoring should be carried out at all levels so that consumers, farmers, traders and industries did not face any power crisis.
Officials camp at substations
Breaking from routine, top officials of Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (MVVNL), including managing director Riya Kejriwal, spent late night hours at substations monitoring supply restoration and reviewing breakdown response systems.
Field engineers, zonal officers and vigilance teams remained stationed at high-load areas instead of monitoring remotely from offices. Officials said direct supervision improved coordination between substations, maintenance teams and complaint centres, reducing restoration delays.
Minister’s surprise inspection spurs action
Energy minister AK Sharma visited the 1090 electricity complaint centre to review consumer grievance handling. “I want to make sure whether complaints are genuinely being resolved or merely marked as ‘registered’ without actual restoration work on the ground. I will visit the centre again,” the minister told Hindustan Times on phone.
The visit prompted faster complaint redressal on Monday. Officials disclosed that the minister sought detailed reports on complaint disposal time, repeat complaints and communication gaps between field staff and the control room.
Numbers tell the story
According to internal assessments, complaints related to local outages, low voltage and transformer faults reduced by nearly 20% within a day. Sensitive substations that previously received 36 to 40 complaints daily saw numbers fall to 26 to 30. The helpline reduced from around 1,200 daily complaints to 900 plus.
Faizullaganj gets relief
After eight days of continuous work, engineers completed major infrastructure upgrades in Faizullaganj, a critical problem zone facing repeated outages. Under chief engineer VP Singh’s guidance, executive engineer Pankaj Kumar Gupta supervised installation of additional aerial bunched cables and transformers to reduce load pressure.
Managing director Kejriwal was present during Monday’s operations. “Residents are expected to receive substantial relief if the upgraded infrastructure performs as planned during the ongoing heatwave,” she said.
Theft crackdown intensifies
The power department intensified anti-theft campaigns, blaming rampant illegal consumption for feeder overloading. Vigilance teams conducted raids across Gomtinagar, Faizullaganj, Madiaon and Jankipuram.
The Raid Assessment and Collection Division conducted an early morning operation across high-loss feeders, inspecting 71 electricity connections. Seven consumers were allegedly found stealing electricity by bypassing meters. FIRs have been registered under Section 135 of the Electricity Act, with further legal action underway.
On-ground reports
Chief engineer Ram Kumar said teams were working round-the-clock. “We are rapidly replacing old electric lines and restoring faults. Additional field staff have been deployed to ensure consumers get quick relief,” he said.
In Dubagga, among the worst-hit areas, resident Rohit said the situation had improved substantially. “Power cuts earlier lasted six to eight hours daily and the situation had become unbearable due to the heat. But during the last two days, we have got almost 90% relief,” he said.
Aradhna, another resident, said her family had suffered greatly. “The heat inside homes became unbearable. Small children and elderly people were suffering badly and there was constant anxiety about when electricity would return. Thankfully, the supply has improved now,” she said.
In Chinhat, resident Rudra noted faster response from field staff. “Earlier, complaints remained unattended for long periods. Now linemen are reaching quickly whenever faults are reported,” he said.
