Mohali/Chandigarh/Panchkula, June 14 -- In the thick of summer, just when the tricity needs its fans, coolers and air-conditioners the most, the power goes out, snatching away even the faintest hope of comfort. As June, the hottest month of the year unfolds, residents are trapped in stifling heat through the day and even the night is showing no mercy. High humidity is adding to the misery. And then, the final straw breaking the residents' back is stretched power cuts, some scheduled, some unannounced - leaving residents sweating round the clock. The worst-hit is Mohali, where rotational power cuts rolled out on Thursday, with officials blaming severe overloading - a result of non-stop use of cooling appliances. Despite the Punjab government's claims of "surplus power", residents across Mohali are reeling under agonising outages, ranging from one to four hours amid blistering temperatures. Electricity outages are being reported across major urban areas covered by 10 key 66 KV substations, including Phase 1, Phase 9, Sector 88, IT City, Sunny Enclave, Mullanpur, Seonk, Ramgarh Bhuda, Baltana and Dhakoli. Sukhjeet Singh, deputy chief engineer, PSPCL, confirmed the district had witnessed a 20% rise in power load, but the infrastructure had not kept up, advising consumers to use power judiciously. Along with overloaded power transformers, aging distribution lines and a lack of alternative sources for several under-capacity grids have exacerbated the crisis. According to PSPCL officials, nearly 30% of the district's 19 grid substations are overloaded and incapable of handling the urban load. A chronic shortage of power staff has also impacted response times. Out of 571 sanctioned posts for linemen and assistant linemen in the district, 203 remain vacant. "There's been no upgrade of transmission lines, substations or manpower for years. Every summer, PSPCL fails to address overloading in summer," said PS Virdi, a former member of the Punjab State Advisory Committee of the Electricity Regulatory Commission. Residents complain the cuts come at the worst possible time, with no prior information. "Electricity cuts are imposed in Phases 9, 10 and 11 on a daily basis. On Friday morning, too, there was a two-hour cut. Worse, the PSPCL helpline is never reachable and the app is also glitch-ridden," Kulwant Singh Kaler, councillor from Phase 11, complained. "What's the point of free electricity if the supply cannot be ensured?" questioned Jasmeet Singh, a resident of Phase 5. Amid the ongoing heatwave, power infrastructure in Chandigarh is also under severe stress, with electricity demand remaining unusually high, even during night hours. The continuous overload was pushing infrastructure beyond its limits, leaving no room for it to cool down or recover, resulting in breakdowns across the city, said Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (CPDL) officials. "For the past few days, we have been managing an exceptional peak in electricity demand ever recorded in the city. On June 12, demand was more than 400 MW in 51 slots. We successfully managed this load without much constraints, except some underground cable faults due to overloading," said CPDL director Arun Kumar Verma. The residents of Sector 30 reported a complete blackout from 1 am to 3.30 am on the intervening night between Thursday and Friday, followed by intermittent power cuts throughout the day. Similar complaints emerged from other areas across the city, including Sectors 36, 40, 41 and 48, with prolonged power disruptions making life increasingly difficult. "Even after privatisation of the electricity department, the city has been grappling with frequent, unscheduled power outages during both day and night, leaving residents to endure sleepless nights," said Rajesh Rai, vice-chairman, CRAWFED. Residents also expressed frustration over the lack of response from helpline numbers meant for lodging complaints, claiming that repeated calls often went unanswered. To address this, CPDL has planned to increase the number of call lines at its helpline (9240-216-666) from 20 to 50. Additionally, the number of customer service executives will also be increased to ensure faster response, officials assured. Over at Panchkula, particularly in Sector 15, residents have flooded the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (UHBVN) control room with complaints of frequent power outages, missing electrical phases and delayed restoration. "Power comes, power goes. It feels like electricity is playing a game with us these days," said Mohit Gupta, founder of Solution Box, a citizen civic group that monitors urban issues in Panchkula. He added that while smart meters have enabled detailed tracking of supply and consumption, the utility's failure to act proactively is causing widespread frustration. Many residents reported being without electricity for several hours, despite repeated assurances from officials. Complaints ranged from burnt transformers and maintenance delays to unmarked meters on poles. (With inputs from Priyanka Thakur)...