MALAPPURAM: When the lights go out, the first question most people ask is: is it just my house or is the entire neighbourhood in the dark?
That moment of uncertainty, often followed by checking switches, peering outside or calling the neighbours, has now inspired a digital solution aimed at giving instant clarity during power cuts.
Alkesh Das, a 27-year-old IT and marketing professional from Thrissur, has developed currentundo.com, a lightweight web application to track power outages across all 14 districts of Kerala. Built around this everyday concern, the platform offers users a quick way to determine whether a power cut is confined to their home or affects a wider area.
The web application allows users to report outages within two seconds using GPS or by entering their pincode. It also features real-time dashboards that highlight spikes in outage reports from big regions such as Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. This helps users distinguish between localised electrical issues and broader disruptions linked to the KSEB.
Launched on April 26, the platform has already attracted more than 8,000 users and currently covers around 80% of the state.
“currentundo.com is a simple public website that helps people in Kerala check whether a power cut is happening only in their home or across their area. If someone’s power goes out, they can report it on the site. And when power returns, they can mark it as restored. When multiple users from the same pincode report an outage, it becomes visible on a live outage map. It works like a weather map, but for power cuts,” Alkesh told TNIE.
He said the platform is free to use and requires no installation, login or personal details.
Alkesh said the idea took shape after he experienced repeated power cuts at his home in Chamakkala, Thrissur. “After renovating my house, I often wondered whether the issue was affecting just my home or the entire area. I would first check the breaker and then try to confirm with neighbours. Reaching official helplines during outages is not always easy. That is when I felt the need for a simple public tool to answer that basic question,” he said.
According to site analytics, the platform recorded over 8,500 unique visitors and 12,000 page views on its first day. Reports were received from all 14 districts, with the highest numbers coming from Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kollam, Kannur, Kottayam and Thrissur. The platform has already covered 1,148 out of 1,413 pincodes.
This is not Alkesh’s first public utility initiative. During the Wayanad landslide relief efforts, he had developed a donation tracker, status.cmdrf.in, which provided real-time updates on contributions to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.