Bengaluru power cut today: BESCOM plans 6-hour shutdown

BESCOM has planned a six-hour power shutdown in parts of Bengaluru on Wednesday, from 11 am to 5 pm, for maintenance work under the Kattigenahalli substation.

Areas set to be affected include Uttar Gate 1, 2 and 3, the Embassy Office and Philips Company premises, Dwaraka Nagar, Baba Nagar, Kattigenahalli, Bagalur Cross, Bagalur Main Road, Manipal College and Vinayaka Nagar and nearby localities.

The power utility said the shutdown is necessary for urgent infrastructure maintenance and substation repairs, including replacing old wiring and clearing tree branches near power lines.

BESCOM added that the outage would also allow for transformer inspections meant to reduce outage risk as monsoon rains intensify.

Residents have been asked to fully charge their electronic devices before 11 am and to keep emergency lighting ready for the shutdown period.

The utility also advised against using lifts or heavy motors during the outage, noting that power would be restored through staggered switching after 5 pm to prevent surges.

The maintenance work is being carried out along with the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited, which frequently coordinates joint outage schedules with BESCOM.

Restoration updates can be tracked through the BESCOM Mithra app or by calling the utility’s 1912 helpline.

BESCOM’s coverage spans eight Karnataka districts, including Bangalore Urban and Bangalore Rural, across more than 41,000 square kilometres and a population of over 2 crore.

The utility’s operations are divided into nine circles, 32 divisions and 147 sub-divisions across four zones, the structure through which today’s Kattigenahalli maintenance has been scheduled.

BESCOM has said such scheduled shutdowns, though inconvenient in the short term, are aimed at reducing the risk of unplanned outages once the monsoon season brings heavier rain and wind to the city.

Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited is coordinating the maintenance work alongside BESCOM, reflecting how transmission and distribution utilities in the state often plan joint outage windows to minimise repeat disruptions.

(Image: Photo by Biswarup Ganguly, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0)