Pune: Balewadi Resident Moves Against MSEDCL Over Repeated Power Cuts
Pune: Balewadi Resident Moves Against MSEDCL Over Repeated Power Cuts
Saakshi Pandhare
Pune, May 15, 2026: Swapna Narayan is a resident of Orchid Towers in Balewadi, who has initiated formal action against the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) following recurring and prolonged power outages in the Baner-Balewadi area, including a 12-hour disruption that affected at least 33 housing societies on May 11.
Under Section 57 of the Electricity Act, 2003, she has submitted a written complaint to MSEDCL’s Aundh division alleging failure to maintain electricity supply standards prescribed by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC).
“She is prepared to approach the Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum (CGRF), Electricity Ombudsman and MERC if corrective action is not taken,” as stated by Swapna.
Several societies in the Baner-Balewadi area remained without power from 2:15 pm till nearly 11:00 pm on May 11. This caused a major inconvenience among the residents during the peak summer temperatures. Additionally, many residents faced the same power outage on May 12.
“Our society and nearby societies were left without information or assistance for hours. There was no prior advisory regarding the outage, and complaint channels remained inaccessible,” Swapna stated in the complaint.
The MSEDCL officials later informed the residents that all three incoming cables had failed simultaneously and that the back-feeding system also became overloaded and tripped due to excessive demand. Swapna had claimed that the explanation itself points towards the infrastructure stress and inadequate refund mechanisms despite recent public announcements regarding infrastructure upgrades in the Baner-Balewadi belt.
Additional Executive Engineer P Dandge reportedly said that a substation project in Balewadi had been pending for nearly two years and described the incident as a “major incident.” Residents have raised questions over delays in the completion of the proposed major substation project, which they believe could help reduce overloading issues in the rapidly growing locality.
In Swapna’s complaint, she has highlighted recurring issues faced by residents over the years, including repeated outages, voltage fluctuations, Ring Main Unit (RMU) faults, overloaded transformers, cable failures and delayed restoration work.
“The issue is not limited to one incident. Consumers are facing frequent disruptions and infrastructure failures while rapid urban development continues in the area,” she said.
People are frustrated because there is no accountability and no long-term solution, despite repeated complaints
