CHENNAI: Residents of several areas in the city are complaining about frequent power cuts. The outage usually lasts about one to two hours, they say. Areas affected by regular disruption in power supply include Puzhithivakkam, Velachery, Valasaravakkam, Kolathur, Ambattur, Madipakkam and Thoraipakkam. “Working from home has become almost impossible due to the power cuts. I could not attend a lot of important video conferencing meetings and missed many deadlines. I have been struggling to work for two hours straight without a power cut,” said B Aravindh, a resident of Puzhithivakkam.
Residents also complain that Tangedco has been carrying out maintenance power shutdowns. Yet, the outages have not stopped and as a result, those working from home or attending online classes are in a fix. “We have had more than 40 power cuts in the past one month. I registered numerous online complaints and nobody has ever responded. Also, the landline of local TNEB office has not been functioning for nearly a year now. I have been residing in this area for the past 15 years and facing this issue for the first time,” said P Sumathi, a resident of Vijayalakshmipuram in Ambattur.
Another resident, B Bhoopalan, added that this disruption is mostly in the wee hours. “Power cuts here are mostly between 2 am and 4 am. With humidity levels increasing, we are not getting any sleep due to the outages. The officials must immediately address the issue,” he said. A few residents have also been facing voltage fluctuations.
According to B Revathi from Velachery, three electronic devices in her house have been damaged due to voltage problem. When informed, the officials provide a temporary solution and the issue begins again in a couple of days, she said. According to the officials of Tangedco, the problems differ in each area and are mostly technical faults. The officials said most problems are attended to as soon as possible and they will perform checks in these areas for any issues.