Ludhiana, Feb. 21 -- Several areas plunged into darkness after strong winds and a brief spell of rain triggered power outages across the city on Thursday. The disruption was felt acutely, with complaints to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) helpline surging from 5,038 on Wednesday midnight to a staggering 12,321 by Thursday noon.

According to PSPCL officials, the power failure was caused by technical glitches in the feeders due to the combination of strong winds and rain drizzle. The gusty winds caused tree branches and loose wires to come in contact with power lines, leading to short circuits. Meanwhile, light rain resulted moisture to seep into insulators and electrical components, causing sparking and tripping of the ...