Mumbai Power Outages Trigger Stormy Assembly Debate As Govt Cites Demand Surge; Speaker Calls High-Level Meeting With BEST

Mumbai: Frequent power outages across Mumbai triggered a stormy discussion in the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday, with the state government attributing the disruptions to a sharp rise in electricity demand and an overloaded distribution network. Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar expressed serious concern over the recurring outages and announced a high-level meeting with BEST and civic officials to prepare a long-term action plan.

Minister Misal Attributes Failures to Record Temperatures and Demand Surge

Replying to a calling attention motion, Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal said Mumbai witnessed its highest temperatures in 57 years during May and June, causing electricity demand to surge from around 907 MW in 2025 to nearly 1,010 MW this year. The increased demand placed immense pressure on the city's ageing distribution infrastructure, resulting in frequent power failures.

Misal informed the House that BEST has identified three sites for new power substations and proposals have been sent to the Mumbai City Collector for land allotment. The additional substations are expected to reduce the load on the existing network and improve the reliability of electricity supply. She also said recruitment of 719 employees is underway, with nearly 150 appointments already completed, while work to upgrade around 1,200 distribution points is in progress.

Sena MLA Chaudhary Alleges Routine Cuts, Raises Jumper Connection Concerns

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Ajay Chaudhary alleged that power cuts have become routine over the past two years and raised concerns over nearly 1,200 temporary jumper connections in south Mumbai. Congress MLA Amin Patel questioned whether Mumbai's electricity situation had become comparable to that of villages and claimed that MLA Rais Shaikh was trapped in a lift for two hours due to a sudden power outage.

Intervening in the debate, Speaker Narwekar held BEST responsible for ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply and said the utility had "completely failed" in its responsibility. He directed officials to improve the complaint redressal mechanism and submit a comprehensive plan to prevent similar outages next year.

Narwekar also announced a meeting on Wednesday with the BEST General Manager, the BMC Commissioner and senior officials of the Urban Development and Energy departments to review the issue and formulate immediate as well as long-term solutions. During the discussion, opposition MLAs staged a brief protest in the House, with Amin Patel warning of a hunger strike if the issue remained unresolved.

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