Uttar Pradesh is witnessing severe electricity cuts amid extreme heatwave conditions as temperatures continue to hover around 45-46 degrees Celsius across the state. While the state government has claimed record-breaking power supply and near round-the-clock electricity in urban and rural areas, ground reports from multiple districts showed residents complaining about long outages, repeated tripping and voltage fluctuations.
From Lucknow and Kanpur to Meerut, Gorakhpur and Prayagraj, residents said prolonged power cuts during the scorching heat have disrupted daily life, affected water supply and impacted businesses and tourism activities. Women, children and elderly residents were among those facing the maximum difficulty during the outages.
Across cities and villages, residents alleged that electricity departments repeatedly cited technical faults and other issues whenever complaints were raised. Officials, meanwhile, maintained that local faults caused temporary disruptions despite record supply levels during the heatwave.
LUCKNOW: ‘NO POWER, NO WATER’ CRISIS LEAVES PEOPLE EXHAUSTED
In Lucknow, residents said electricity remained unavailable through most of the night while supply during the day lasted only for a few hours. People were seen sitting in courtyards and on rooftops, using hand fans to survive the scorching heat. The power crisis also disrupted water supply because electric motors were unable to function properly amid voltage fluctuations and outages. Residents alleged that whenever they contacted the local substation, officials cited a different technical fault every day.
Many women said they were forced to cook in extremely hot kitchens without fans or ventilation. Lucknow resident Poonam Jaiswal, who suffers from blood pressure issues aggravated by heat, said she struggled to cook during the prolonged outages. She appealed to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to intervene and restore normal electricity supply in the area.
Residents in Faizullaganj said children were struggling due to the heat while several families faced drinking water shortages because water pumps remained non-functional during outages.
GHAZIABAD: TRIPPING, LONG CUTS ADD TO HEATWAVE WOES
Residents in Ghaziabad complained of repeated tripping, low voltage and long power cuts amid the 45-degree heatwave. Areas including Vaishali, Vasundhara, Khoda, Pratap Vihar and Sanjay Nagar witnessed outages lasting up to five hours, affecting over 25,000 people and disrupting water supply.
Officials said overloaded transformers and technical faults were causing disruptions, while Chief Engineer Pawan Agrawal claimed teams were working round-the-clock to restore normal supply.
KANPUR: HOW WILL FUNCTIONS RUN? BUSINESSES COUNT LOSSES
In Kanpur, residents and traders along the city’s 80 Feet Road reported long outages during the day. Traders said banquet halls, hotels and shops struggled without electricity during the heatwave. People attending functions at banquet halls were seen manually fanning themselves because fans and coolers had stopped working. Hall owners said rising diesel expenses due to generator use were increasing operational costs and could eventually affect customer footfall.
Bookshop owners in Kanpur also highlighted unique challenges. They said they could not install coolers because moisture damages books and increases the risk of termites. Traders accused officials of not answering phone calls and questioned why maintenance work and line repairs were carried out during peak daytime hours instead of early mornings.
PRAYAGRAJ: RESIDENTS BOIL IN 46-DEGREE HEAT AS OFFICIALS DENY POWER CUTS
In Prayagraj, residents from areas including Kareli, Dhoomanganj, Sulemsarai and Ashok Nagar complained of repeated nighttime outages. People said the absence of electricity during the 46-degree heat made conditions unbearable. However, Chief Engineer Rajesh Kumar denied any official power cuts and said overload and heat-related faults were causing temporary disruptions in some areas.
VARANASI: POWER CUTS HIT JEWELLERY WORK, AFFECT ARTISANS’ LIVELIHOOD
In Varanasi’s Resham Katra, the biggest bullion market in eastern Uttar Pradesh, repeated power cuts and overloading are affecting jewellers and artisans whose work depends entirely on electricity. Machines used for polishing jewellery, soldering and testing gold and silver purity require uninterrupted power and constant air-conditioning, but frequent outages have disrupted operations and impacted livelihoods.
Jeweller Ravi Seth said machines worth up to Rs 30 lakh require temperatures between 20 and 22 degrees Celsius for accurate functioning, but repeated outages force air-conditioners to shut down, affecting purity testing results. Artisans involved in polishing and moulding jewellery said work stops every time electricity goes out, with some claiming power cuts have reduced business by nearly 30 percent.
MATHURA: VILLAGERS SAY OUTAGES HAVE NO FIXED TIMING
In Mathura district, residents of Vrindavan and Chhataikara village said power cuts occurred unpredictably and there was no fixed schedule for outages or restoration. Residents complained that electricity remained available only for limited periods despite the severe heat.
MEERUT: RESIDENTS COMPLAIN OF ENDLESS TRIPPING
People in Meerut reported frequent tripping and long cuts despite the chief minister’s directive for 24-hour supply in urban areas and 18-hour supply in rural regions. Residents said outages continued through the night and claimed there had been no visible improvement in electricity services after the government’s announcements.
CHANDAULI: PEOPLE GET 17–18 HOURS SUPPLY, BUT TRIPPING WORSENS MISERY
Residents of Sehajour village in Chandauli said they were receiving around 17 to 18 hours of electricity supply but repeated tripping and sudden nighttime cuts were causing problems during the heatwave. Villagers said children and elderly people faced major discomfort due to the interruptions. Some residents attributed the disruptions to excessive load and heat-related technical faults.
GORAKHPUR: RURAL RESIDENTS FACE ERRATIC SUPPLY, WATER ISSUES
In Gorakhpur’s rural Rudrapur region, residents said power supply timings remained unpredictable. Villagers said electricity sometimes lasted only for half an hour or one hour before disappearing again. Residents were seen using towels and bamboo hand fans to cope with the heat. Locals also complained about old and damaged power lines passing through trees, saying strong winds often triggered outages.
Residents in several Gorakhpur localities, including Rustampur Dhala, recently staged protests against electricity cuts. Authorities also reported falling water levels at Ramgarh Tal, affecting cruise operations and damaging mechanical parts of vessels. In Sahjanwa’s Judian village, residents said industrial pollution from nearby factories caused respiratory problems while falling groundwater levels prevented water motors from functioning properly.
ENERGY DEPARTMENT: RECORD SUPPLY, LOCAL FAULTS CAUSING DISRUPTION
The Uttar Pradesh energy department maintained that the state had achieved record electricity supply. State Energy Minister AK Sharma posted on X that Uttar Pradesh recorded a peak supply of 31,804 MW at 10:39 pm, claiming no other state in the country had supplied such high electricity till date. He also claimed that the government had moved beyond old rostering practices and was supplying 24-hour electricity across the state, including 22 to 22.5 hours in rural areas. Sharma said technical, natural and human-induced local faults were causing temporary disruptions and asserted that electricity workers were working round the clock to restore supply.
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Published By:
Akshat Trivedi
Published On:
May 25, 2026 21:59 IST
