Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Frequent power outages in Bhopal and Indore during this summer, mainly caused by gusty winds, have prompted the state energy department to consider laying underground electricity cables in the two cities. The move aims to reduce power tripping cases that surge during extreme weather events.
Sources in the energy department revealed that the situation worsened in May, with the highest number of electricity tripping incidents reported due to strong winds exceeding 50 km/h in many areas. The trend continued in June, with around 1.64 lakh tripping cases recorded in just the first fifteen days—an average of over 11,000 outages per day.
From June 10 to 14 alone, 66,460 cases of tripping were reported. Officials noted that during four of those five days, the number of cases was significantly higher than usual. Bhopal and Indore, being urban hubs with dense populations and older infrastructure, were hit hardest.
"Electricity towers were designed 10–15 years ago, based on climatic patterns of that time," an official explained. "But now the conditions have changed. Summers are witnessing prolonged periods of high-velocity winds, and our existing structures are struggling to cope."
To tackle this, a meeting was recently held under the chairmanship of Electricity Minister Pradhyuman Singh Tomar. During the meeting, officials recommended laying insulated underground cables in Bhopal and Indore, following the example of cities like Mumbai.
“Underground cabling is far more expensive. One insulated underground cable costs about four times more than an overhead line. Moreover, two cables are laid—one in active use and the other kept as a backup—raising the cost to nearly eight times,” said an official present at the meeting.
When contacted, a senior energy department officer confirmed that the proposal is under serious consideration. “We are also working on tower redesigns that can withstand adverse climatic conditions in future,” he added.
