Parts of Chennai experienced a massive power cut on Thursday night after a massive fire broke out at the 400 kV substation (SS) in Manali, located on the outskirts of Tamil Nadu's Chennai city.
The incident, which took place at around 9 pm, severely disrupted the power supply to several areas, especially in North and Central Chennai.
Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) chairman and managing director -- Rajesh Lakhani -- had immediately visited the site to assess the situation.
The Manali substation is connected to the North Chennai Thermal Power Station and other substations including Tondiarpet, Basin Bridge and Pulianthope. According to The New Indian Express, the power cut after the fire at the substation lasted for nearly four hours, impacting the daily lives of lakhs of residents across localities.
The affected areas include Periyamedu, Egmore, Triplicane, Mylapore, Mandaiveli, Chetpet, Nugambakkam, RA Puram, Puzhal, Besant Nagar, Vadapalani, Thiruvanmiyur, and Adyar.
Lakhani had told TNIE that soon after the incident, fire and rescue teams had rushed to the spot, trying to extinguish the blaze. "Power has already been restored in areas like Valluvar Kottam and its surroundings," he said.
Frustrated residents in some areas like KK Nagar and Periyamedu took to the streets to protest against the extended power cut.
Owing to the power cuts, major roads including Central and Anna Salai, witnessed heavy traffic jams as motorists struggled to navigate on the streets with nearly no lighting.
Meanwhile, a senior TANGEDCO official said that a probe was underway to ascertain the reason behind the fire. "The feeder lines were also damaged in the fire, but we are working swiftly to restore power connections across the city," the official was cited as saying.
In the most recent update shared by TANGEDCO, it said that in swift action taken by its officials, the team worked to resolve the fault at NCTPS II, ensuring the Manali SS feeding the city was restored to its original healthy condition by Thursday, 6 am.
Further, it said, "A cascading fault on redundant feeder Alamathy of Manai 400/230 kV Substation caused damage to the switch structure. Logistics for replacement was swiftly arranged, and restoration will be completed soon, ensuring both paths are operational again."
