Power outage in south, central Mumbai, train services restored after disruption

Rank 5 | India’s financial capital Mumbai is ranked fifth-most congested city in the world with a congestion level of 53 percent but has slightly improved from its position from 2020. The city was ranked second-most congested in the world in 2020. Mumbai is India’s most congested city despite the Covid-induced lockdown. | Time lost per year: 121 hours. (Representative Image)

South and Central Mumbai reported a power outage on February 27 morning, with areas such as Govandi, Chembur, Dadar and Matunga waking up to no electricity after supply from Tata Power tripped.

Though the exact cause of disruption was not known, work was on to restore the supply after the city saw its worst outage following the blackout on October 12, 2020.

"Due to the tripping of the MSEB 220 KV transmission line on Mulund-Trombay, the power supply to most of the parts Mumbai has been affected, as informed by the Head of Electric Supply Division of BEST,” BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chauhan said.

Around 300mw of supply was hit. The widespread power outage also affected the movement of local trains between Andheri and Churchgate railway stations.

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) said “because of Tata’s grid failure, there is no electricity in Sion, Matunga, Parel, Dadar, CSMT, Byculla, Churchgate, and other areas. The restoration work is currently underway."

BEST, a state undertaking, distributes power in Mumbai and majorly relies on producers like Tata Power. Tata Power spokesperson was not immediately available for comments.

The outage was limited to the island city and spared areas like Thane and Navi Mumbai.

Local train services, the lifeline of the country's financial capital, were also restored on the Central Railway route after a brief disruption.

Central Railways chief public relations officer tweeted that "power supply tripped momentarily on HB and Mainline from 9.49-52am. Trains are running on all corridors."

Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus faced a brief blackout but local trains resumed movement on the central railway route after a momentary disruption.

Such widespread outages are rare as power grids in Mumbai and other satellite towns are designed to efficiently supply electricity 24 x 7 in keeping with the immense energy requirements of the city and its neighbourhood.

The last time Mumbai went dark was on October 12, 2020, when electricity disruptions in some parts of the city lasted for 18 hours.

The investigation report said "due to heavy rains that year, the Talegaon-Kalwa line had been damaged, leading to burdening other three lines, which had resulted in the power outage".

Though a cyber-sabotage angle was ruled out, in March 2021, a US-based company said some unidentified Chinese entities were involved in the power outage.