Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has strongly countered claims made by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), which blamed the PMC for frequent power outages that have led to disruptions in the city's water supply.
In a detailed report, the Municipal Corporation revealed that in the months of July and August, there were a total of 271 instances of power failure at various water supply centers across the city.
However, only 21 of these were caused by faults within the Municipal Corporation’s system. The remaining 250 outages were attributed to MSEDCL's infrastructure issues.
Pune relies on 13 water purification centers and pumping stations, and even a brief power outage can have a cascading effect. According to PMC officials, a five-minute power cut can lead to delays of up to two hours in resuming the normal water supply.
This delay occurs due to the time it takes to restart systems and refill tanks, causing significant disruptions to the city’s water distribution schedule.
One of the most affected areas is the Khadakwasla Jackwell, which supplies water directly to the Parvati and Warje water centers. MSEDCL’s report claimed that the power supply at this key location was interrupted six times over two months.
However, PMC’s data shows 21 outages—9 in July and 12 in August—leading to widespread water supply disruptions across the city.
Key water centers such as Padmavati, Bhama-Askhed, and Rajiv Gandhi Pumping Station (Katraj) also faced frequent outages, further exacerbating the issue. The Municipal Corporation has called on MSEDCL to take responsibility for the situation and improve the maintenance of its electrical infrastructure to prevent further inconvenience to residents.
PMC’s report also details number of outages at water centers:
Padmavati Pumping Station: 36 outages
Bhama-Askhed Water Center: 35 outages
Rajiv Gandhi Pumping Station (Katraj): 50 outages
Wadgaon Water Center: 6 outages
Khadakwasla Jackwell: 21 outages
Lashkar Water Center: 42 outages
Chikhali: 15 outages
Other areas: 76 outages
PMC officials have urged MSEDCL to conduct regular and thorough maintenance of its electrical systems to avoid such frequent outages in the future.