CHENNAI: Hundreds of residents from Guduvancheri and nearby areas gathered in front of the local electricity office on Sunday night and staged a protest against frequent unscheduled power cuts that occur even at midnight. They dispersed after the police intervened and placated them.
R Pavan Kumar (29), a resident of Perumattunallur, said, “For the past couple of months, we have been experiencing power outages from 10 pm to 6 am on alternate days. This has caused immense hardship for thousands of residents, including school children and the elderly.”
Repeated complaints to the assistant executive engineer at Guduvancheri electricity office and frequent calls to officials in Minnagam have gone in vain. “We have received no response to our complaints so far,” Pavan Kumar added.
S Sathish Kumar, another resident, highlighted that the issue affects not just households but also the IT companies, schools, colleges, commercial establishments, and apartments in Guduvancheri and surrounding areas. “The officials informed us that one of the two feeders in the main transformer was under repair, making it difficult for them to provide immediate solutions,” he said.
Small commercial establishments have resorted to using generators to continue their operations. An official from the Tangedco said, “There is only one substation in Guduvancheri, which has to supply power to all residents in the area. Frequent power outages are due to feeder faults. Once these issues are resolved, the power supply will be regular.” Efforts to contact Guduvancheri Assistant Executive Engineer and Distribution Director of Tangedco for further comments were unsuccessful.