The financial capital, Mumbai, is known for not regularly facing power outages apart from the load-shedding in certain areas. One of the biggest reasons for this is that power cuts can cause major interference with the city’s business activities, local train services (which is the lifeline of the city), and moreover, the city gets most if it’s electricity from privately-owned power suppliers.
However, there have been certain instances wherein the city has faced sudden power cuts that shook the nation:
1) On 26th July 2005, the peculiarly heavy rainfall brought Mumbai to a standstill. For several hours most parts of the city were in darkness. In some areas, there was no electricity for almost 24 hours; making a huge impact on household activities, businesses and transport. The Mumbaikars also experienced large enforced power cuts to avoid electrocution.
2) On 5th October 2017, a shortfall of 2000 megawatt left Mumbai facing a massive shortage of electricity. Parts of Bhandup and Mulund faced load-shedding for three to four hours. Navi Mumbai and Thane also faced the same. This was yet another unforeseen instance of power shortage.
3) On 12th October 2020, around 50 lakh households and businesses across the city suffered power cuts. Train services also came to a halt for about two hours, causing commuters inconvenience and forcing them to choose another mode of transport. This broke the Internet and led to a flurry of memes, tweets and jokes. Alternate power arrangements were made for hospitals, owing to the recent Covid-19 situation. It is believed that the reason behind this was multiple tripping of power lines.