As the state capital grapples with prolonged power cuts, overloaded feeders and repeated instances of ‘tripping’ amid an unforgiving heatwave, the crisis is testing not only the city’s electricity infrastructure but also pushing the power department’s field machinery to its physical and emotional limits.
Across substations, control rooms and repair sites, engineers, sub-divisional officers (SDOs) and linesmen say they have been working almost round-the-clock for days, often without proper meals, rest or time with their families, as complaints continue to pour in from across the state capital.
Chief engineer Ram Kumar, posted in Amausi, says he has been working between 16 and 18 hours daily for nearly a week. On Saturday, even his mother’s death anniversary could not pull him away from duty.
“Today is my mother’s death anniversary, but I am still on duty because our responsibility is to provide relief to the public,” Kumar said, while supervising restoration work. He also urged people to limit the power use at night time.
He pointed to ageing underground wire cables in Dubagga as one of the primary reasons behind repeated breakdowns and faults.
“The old cable network is creating major technical problems. We are close to replacing it, and hopefully, within the next couple of days, the public will get significant relief,” he said.
The pressure is equally intense in eastern Lucknow, where chief engineer Sushil Garg is overseeing operations in Gomti Nagar, Indira Nagar and Chinhat, some of the city’s most densely populated and high-consumption areas.
“We are appointed to serve the public 24 hours a day,” Garg said.
“During the summer, electricity demand rises sharply and the load on the infrastructure becomes enormous. In such situations, family life automatically becomes secondary.” Garg said he too has been working more than 15 hours daily over the past week as teams scramble to manage outages and stabilise supply.
At Kamta substation, SDO Santosh described a life consumed entirely by emergency calls and technical breakdowns.
“When day becomes night and night turns into day, I lose track completely. For the last one week, there has been no fixed time for breakfast, lunch or dinner,” he said.
For the linesmen working on the ground in extreme heat, the burden has become even heavier.
Chotelal, a linesman at Kamta substation, said continuous emergency repair work has left little time even to eat.
“Earlier, after duty hours, I used to do private electrical work to support my children’s education. Now, there is no time left for anything. We are continuously working on the same salary,” he said.
At Shivpuri substation, SDO AK Singh said complaint calls continue without pause throughout the day and night.
“My phone keeps ringing continuously. People are angry and frustrated. I keep assuring them that supply will resume soon,” he said. “Sometimes it feels like I am living without my family. My personal life is over.”
The crisis has also exposed the fragile working conditions of many contractual and ad hoc workers who form the backbone of emergency restoration teams.
Ghanshyam, a linesman posted at Shivpuri substation on an ad hoc basis, said the workload during the current heatwave has become overwhelming.
“Sometimes, because of continuous duty, I cannot even go home for days,” he said.
With temperatures continuing to remain above normal and electricity demand touching seasonal peaks, the state capital’s power network remains under severe strain. Officials say repair and restoration teams are conducting continuous emergency operations across multiple affected localities, even as residents in many areas continue to complain of erratic supply, low voltage and prolonged outages.
For the thousands battling sleepless nights in the heat, the crisis has become a story of public anger and infrastructural stress. But behind the scenes, for many electricity workers, it has also become a test of endurance where the line between professional duty and personal life has almost disappeared.
