Patiala: Powerful thunderstorms with high-speed winds that moved through Punjab on June 11-12 caused extensive harm to the state's power infrastructure. The damage is estimated to be around Rs 20 crore, and more than 3.15 lakh consumer complaints were logged within 48 hours.
Massive Infrastructure Damage
Senior Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials said the storm led to one of the largest weather-linked disruptions seen in recent years. Early reports from the field suggest that over 8,000 electricity poles, about 800 transformers, five 220-kV transmission towers and four 66-kV towers were damaged across Punjab.
Border and Central Zones were hit the hardest, especially in districts including Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Fazilka, Malout and Barnala. Strong winds brought down poles, snapped conductors and damaged transformers, resulting in lengthy outages in cities and villages.
Loss Estimate Revised Upward
PSPCL's most recent estimate puts overall infrastructure losses at about Rs 20 crore. Initially, based on first reports, the utility assessed losses at Rs 2.06 crore, but this increased substantially once detailed updates arrived from field units.
Consumer Impact and Complaints
Consumer impact was evident from the complaint numbers. PSPCL recorded 1,73,499 complaints on June 11, which was more than twice the usual daily load. Average time to resolve complaints rose to almost six hours as restoration teams dealt with exceptional levels of damage. On June 12, a further 1.41 lakh complaints were filed, pushing the two-day total beyond 3.15 lakh.
Continued Challenges
Officials noted that the strong winds during the night of June 12 caused relatively little further structural damage, yet they still led to new outages and slowed restoration in several districts already affected by the earlier storm.
PSPCL officials stated that power supply was brought back in most impacted locations by using alternative sources. However, sources within the utility indicated that PSPCL could face a shortage of poles, as damage to more than 8,000 poles was substantial and replacing such a large number would be a major task. The long outages also interrupted water supply in many places, with residents facing dry taps and only partial, intermittent power restoration, said sources in the power sector.
Weather Warnings and Restoration Efforts
Before the system struck, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued alerts for thunderstorms, lightning and squally winds across Punjab and nearby regions. Those warnings were followed by widespread damage to the distribution network, with repair teams working round the clock to restore supply and replace damaged equipment. PSPCL officials said restoration was close to completion in most affected areas, although teams were still handling pending complaints and carrying out permanent repair work.
Vulnerability Exposed
The extent of destruction has again underlined how exposed Punjab's power network is to extreme weather, particularly during the pre-monsoon storm period.
