LUCKNOW, June 12 -- The relentless heat and high humidity made the city's power infrastructure sweat with the Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration (LESA) grappling to manage widespread outages and mounting consumer complaints on a day when Lucknow clocked its highest-ever electricity demand at 1,940.33 mw on June 10, marking a significant milestone in the city's power usage history. This new benchmark surpassed last year's peak demand of 1,937.42 mw, recorded on June 18. In 2023, the highest demand stood at 1,688.93 mw on June 13, while in 2022, the peak touched 1,644.84 mw on June 14. The comparison highlights an all-time high growth of 10.24% in peak power consumption in just a year, underscoring the strain on the city's power infrastructure due to rising temperatures and increased reliance on cooling appliances. The demand spike in June followed a clear and steep upward trajectory. Lucknow's power demand was 1,463.92 mw on June 5, 1561.56 mw on June 6, 1604.96 mw on June 7, 1702 mw on June 8 and 1805.81 mw on June 9. More than 5,000 complaints were received by the LESA helpline and substations in the city on Tuesday night. A snapped jumper on the 33 kv RDSO feeder at New Alambagh substation triggered emergency load shifting, leading to rotational blackouts. Several feeders, including Khadra and Asti, suffered breakdown, while overload on key lines like Ahbaranpur's forced roster cuts. In Nadarganj, a fire near a power line and a shutdown for transformer testing disrupted supply to industrial zones. Meanwhile, prolonged outages in Singar Nagar sparked protests from local traders, and residents in Faizullaganj reported up to 20 outages on Wednesday, citing lack of night staff and poor response from officials. At 12:23 am on Tuesday, a jumper on one phase of the 33 kv RDSO feeder at the 33/11 kv New Alambagh substation was burnt. This forced authorities to shift a 30 MVA load on to the 33 kv 3rd line, which was already carrying a 10 MVA load from the Indralok substation. Due to the 40 MVA overload, the full load could not be maintained, leading to load shedding on two to three 11 KV feeders from 12:45 am to 1:50 am. Power was alternated in 30-minute intervals. The situation normalised after RDSO's supply resumed at 1:50 am. The Ahbaranpur substation reported the breakdown of the 11 kv Khadra and sewage pump feeders. Due to an overload on the 33 kv Ahbaranpur 1st line, several feeders were placed under rotational power cuts. A sudden fire broke out near the electrical line connected to Nadarganj Power House, close to Amausi Metro Station on Kanpur Road. Residents promptly alerted the power house and fire station. The fire was brought under control before fire tenders arrived. Power supply remained interrupted for four hours. In Singar Nagar substation area, the Alambagh Vyapar Mandal, led by president Vijay Sanmukh and senior general secretary Mohd Haseeb, staged a protest and met SDO Narendra Yadav to lodge a complaint. The delegation warned of public protests if power cuts continued. "The combined effect of high temperature and humidity has led to massive stress on the city's power infrastructure. Our teams are monitoring the load closely and making arrangements for uninterrupted supply," said a senior Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited official....