1,400 families in Sector 36A suffer 24-hour power outage due to feeder fault

Over 1,400 families residing in the AVL-36 society along the Dwarka Expressway in Sector-36A, Gurgaon, were left without electricity for almost 24 hours after a fault developed in their power feeder, said officials. The power outage, which began around 5pm on Friday, was only restored by 4pm the following day after extensive repairs by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVN), locals alleged. 

Residents expressed frustration over the prolonged blackout. Manoj Kumar Yadav, a member of the Resident Welfare Association (RWA), described the situation as “horrible,” noting that every flat’s inverter had drained out by the night. “Phones and other equipment also switched off as the backup system only powers common areas and lifts,” Yadav said. 

 Meanwhile, Aman Malkania, another resident, criticised the lack of communication from DHBVN officials about the nature of the fault or how long repairs would take. “They deployed manpower on Saturday morning to repair it. We frequently face such issues, but this was the most severe,” Malkania said. 

Malkania further said that the feeder, originally laid by the developer, who previously charged ₹80,000 per month for maintenance, often malfunctions due to poor cable quality. Despite being taken over by DHBVN three years ago, residents still endure frequent disruptions. “The cable needs to be replaced,” he added. 

In response, DHBVN officials said that the feeder, an underground 11kV XLPE wire, supplies power to the society from a substation in Garhi Harsaru. They added that further replacement of cables will be considered if the faults persists. Amit Kamboj, executive engineer for the Manesar division, said the initial fault was restored temporarily on Friday night, but the line failed again at 11.30pm, delaying repairs until the following morning. 

“With the help of fault locating equipment, we were able to pinpoint the location after more than 2 hours of effort on Saturday, following which repair works began,” Kamboj said. 

Kamboj said that the depth of the cable, which had been buried several feet deeper than expected due to construction on the Dwarka Expressway, complicated the repair process. “It took hours to dig out the cable carefully, as it had to be handled without further damage,” Kamboj added. The repair team had to replace a 12-foot section of the feeder and make two joints, each taking up to two hours to dry. 

When asked, Kamboj said that the fault-locating equipment is presently unavailable with DHBNV, and it is rented from private agencies when the requirement arises to detect a fault in underground cabling. “We take up necessary work to ensure that residents don’t suffer again in the future, but technical issues or faults can surface anytime,” he added.