Rising demand and overloaded distribution network causing power cuts in Mumbai: Govt

During a discussion in the assembly, Speaker Rahul Narwekar expressed severe displeasure over the BEST undertaking's handling of the issue and announced that a high-level meeting will be convened with BEST and civic officials to draw up an action plan.

Replying to a calling attention notice, the Minister of State for Urban Development, Madhuri Misal, said Mumbai experienced the highest temperatures in 57 years during May and June, resulting in a sharp rise in electricity demand.

"Peak power demand shot up from about 907 MW in 2025 to around 1,010 MW, putting heavy pressure on the existing distribution infrastructure and leading to frequent supply interruptions," she said.

The minister said the existing distribution points (DPs) and overhead equipment are facing excessive load, making new power sub-stations essential.

She stated that BEST has identified three sites for new sub-stations and the proposal has been sent to the Mumbai City Collector for land allotment.

"The additional substations would help ease the load and improve the reliability of the power supply," she added.

During the discussion, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Ajay Chaudhary alleged that power cuts had become frequent over the past two years and claimed south Mumbai alone had around 1,200 temporary jumper connections, raising concerns about the network's condition during the monsoon.

Referring to the recent Chor Bazaar fire, he questioned whether the government intended to weaken BEST (Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking ) and demanded that vacant technical posts be filled at the earliest.

He also alleged that consumers were unable to connect through BEST's call centre, with complaints remaining unattended for hours.

Amin Patel (Congress) wondered whether the electricity situation in Mumbai has become similar to that of villages.

"Are we living in a village or Mumbai city?" he asked.

He said MLA Raees Shaikh was stuck in a lift for two hours because of sudden load shedding.

Responding to the staffing issue, the minister said recruitment of 719 employees was underway and around 150 appointments had already been completed.

Work on upgrading around 1,200 distribution points was also in progress, she added.

Intervening in the debate, Speaker Narwekar said the situation was unacceptable for Mumbai, the country's financial capital, and held BEST responsible for ensuring uninterrupted electricity distribution.

He said the BEST had "completely failed" in discharging its responsibility and directed officials to immediately submit details on the time taken to resolve consumer complaints, improve the call-centre mechanism, and present a comprehensive plan to ensure that such widespread outages do not recur next year.

The Speaker said a meeting will be convened at 3 PM on Tuesday in his office with the BEST general manager, the Mumbai municipal commissioner, and state government representatives to review the issue and prepare a long-term solution.

MLAs Amin Patel, Rais Shaikh and Mahesh Sawant squatted in the well of the House. Patel threatened to go on a hunger strike if the issue is not resolved.