Hyderabad: Several parts of the city have been witnessing long powercuts over the last few days. Officials blame the cuts on “trippings” due to load increase as the use of electrical appliances, especially air conditioners, are on the rise due to soaring temperatures. The upmarket areas as well as the new developing areas are being largely affected due to sudden load increase.

“We had no power supply in our colony, Sagar Society, Road No.2, Banjara Hills, for most of Friday night. The power tripped in the morning at around 1.30 am and in spite of making several calls, the electricity department did not respond. At around 5.30 am, the power was restored for half-an-hour and then it went off again. Power was restored only at around 11.30 am. We spent a sleepless night due to the extreme weather conditions. Further, every now and then, the power goes off and officials say there is breakdown in the 11kv feeder line. How long will they continue with these excuses?” asked Vijay Simha, a resident from Sagar Society, Banjara Hills.

A senior discom official said, “Although there is supply backup available for the entire city now, in case of developing and upmarket areas, a sudden load of almost two to three air-conditioners in each house starts in the evening. This is resulting in huge load build-up. In the last one month, four sub-station failures and several feeder breakdowns have occurred due to this.”