Power outage disrupts 200 IT companies in Hinjewadi

A power outage affected over 90,000 consumers in Pune, including 200 IT companies in Hinjewadi. This disruption occurred on March 22 after a fire broke out in the Ambegaon hills, impacting the Pirangut-Kandalgaon 220 KV power line. Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL) reported that small and large trees and bushes caught fire. The fire caused a tripping event that led to outages in 31 substations in the area. Senior engineers from MSETCL responded quickly, restoring power within 43 minutes. The outage created a deficit of 182 MW in the power system. Earlier in the month, another fire incident caused significant disruptions to nearly 2.49 lakh customers in nearby areas. An MSETCL official pointed out that these ongoing incidents show how vulnerable high-voltage power infrastructure is to fires, especially during dry seasons. To address this issue, MSETCL has announced stricter preventive measures, including firebreaks and regular monitoring of vegetation near power lines.