Electric Shock for Hinjawadi: 52,000 Consumers Affected, Pune IT Industry Takes a Hit

Hinjawadi, 7th July 2025: A massive power outage affected over 52,000 electricity consumers under the Ganeshkhind and Pune rural divisions of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) after a fault occurred in a critical underground power line on Sunday afternoon. While MSEDCL managed to restore supply to low-voltage consumers by early Monday morning, restoration for high-voltage industrial users is still underway.

Fault in MahaTransco Line Behind Crisis

The disruption occurred around 2:10 PM on Sunday, shortly after Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MahaTransco) completed scheduled maintenance on the 220 kV Infosys–Pegasus ultra-high voltage underground line near the Hinjawadi Phase-2 Metro Station. When the system was restarted post-maintenance, it developed a major fault that crippled power supply to 91 high-voltage consumers and over 52,000 low-voltage users, including domestic and commercial connections.

The outage affected approximately 20,000 consumers in the Pimpri division and 32,000 in the Mulshi division, disrupting power in areas like Xrbia Society, Kolte Patil Township, Marunji, Maan, Jambe, Nere, and Dattawadi, as well as IT and industrial zones such as Hinjawadi MIDC, Wipro Circle, Raisoni Park, and the Dohler Company.

MSEDCL Responds with “War-Footing” Plan

Although MahaTransco had not formally declared the fault until late Sunday, MSEDCL began executing emergency plans to restore power through alternate lines to avoid a prolonged crisis.

“Power to around 2,000 consumers was restored by 10 PM on Sunday,” said Sunil Kakade, Chief Engineer of MSEDCL. “By 4 AM on Monday, supply was fully restored for all low-voltage consumers in affected areas.”

Senior officials, including Sinhajirao Gaikwad, Superintendent Engineer of Ganeshkhind Division, and Yuvraj Jarg, Superintendent Engineer of Pune Rural Division, were directly involved in coordinating efforts alongside field teams. 25 feeders of 22 kV capacity were re-routed to resume supply.

“The support from engineers, workers, and contractors enabled us to prevent a total power crisis,” Kakade added.

High-Voltage Consumers Still in the Dark

While residential and small commercial areas have received power through alternate arrangements, some industrial consumers remain without electricity due to inadequate load capacity in alternate supply routes. Notably, companies like Infosys and Nextra, which are ultra-high voltage consumers, are still awaiting restoration.

According to officials, MSEDCL will require further planning and infrastructure load balancing to resume supply to the 85 high-voltage and 2 ultra-high-voltage consumers.

Root Cause: MahaTransco Line Failure

MSEDCL sources confirmed that the power cut was caused by a fault in the incoming 220 kV line supplied by MahaTransco, which is responsible for transmitting high-voltage electricity to MSEDCL.

“MSEDCL handles distribution, while MahaTransco manages the high-voltage transmission. A fault in the latter’s supply line severely impacted our operations,” an official explained.

Areas Affected:

• Mulshi Division: Xrbia Society, Kolte Patil Township, Marunji, Maan, Jambe, Mere, Dattawadi (32,000 consumers)
• Pimpri Division: Hinjawadi MIDC, IT Park, Raisoni Park (partially), Dohler Company, Wipro Circle (20,000 consumers)

While residents expressed relief at the restoration of power, questions remain about the reliability of maintenance work and coordination between MSEDCL and MahaTransco, especially in high-growth corridors like Hinjawadi.