The power crisis in Navi Mumbai has gained unprecedented attention after Ulwe resident Aanantaa Sujata Baruah's emotional social media video on power cuts went viral, striking a chord with residents across the city who said they were facing the same ordeal. In a symbolic act of protest that went viral on social media, Baruah later carried a pillow to the MSEDCL office, urging officials to experience the sleepless nights that thousands of consumers have been enduring in this extreme weather. "I leave for work at 5am and return home around 11pm. On several nights, power would go off around 11pm and return only at 4am or 5am. After nearly a week of this, it started affecting my sleep, recovery and mental well-being," Baruah said. The video has sparked widespread public anger, with residents across Vashi, Turbhe, Kamothe, Kharghar, Ulwe, Airoli, Ghansoli and Kopar Khairane reporting similar experiences of spending nights without electricity amid soaring temperatures.
Kamothe has emerged as the worst-hit area after experiencing recurring power failures lasting more than 24 hours, with the latest outage lasting from 4 p.m. Saturday until midnight. The area was previously hit by a gruelling 27-hour power outage that plunged nearly 15,000 residents into darkness, as reported by Hindustan Times. The strongest public backlash emerged in Kamothe, where a faulty 630 KVA transformer triggered prolonged disruptions that affected nearly 15,000 residents over a 27-hour period. The outage also impacted water supply as electric pumps stopped functioning, leaving thousands of households without access to basic services. Nearly 2,000 flats across nine towers of Shivkalpataru Society were affected, with residents complaining that "Thousands of residents in our complex were left dealing with both electricity and water disruptions. The biggest concern was not knowing when normalcy would return."
According to residents, the Kamothe division of MSEDCL is grappling with a shortage of technical staff, affecting the speed of repairs and restoration work. Citizens alleged that MSEDCL has continued to sanction new electricity connections despite the existing infrastructure being incapable of handling the increasing load. Frequent technical faults, transformer overloads and insufficient maintenance have resulted in regular power interruptions across the node, residents claimed. MSEDCL Superintendent Engineer Deepak Patil confirmed that restoration and infrastructure-strengthening measures are currently active, with major restoration and repair works undertaken in areas where ageing underground cables have developed faults. MSEDCL Assistant Engineer Gautam Suryavanshi said some of the recent outages were linked to technical works and maintenance activities being carried out on the network, stating "Power interruptions in certain pockets occurred due to box-related repairs and other technical works undertaken to stabilise the system."
Navi Mumbai deputy mayor Dashrath Bhagat has recently convened a meeting with MSEDCL officials following complaints from residents of Vashigaon, Sanpada, Palm Beach, Sector 17 and Sector 30. "Repeated outages affecting homes, patients, senior citizens and businesses show that infrastructure upgrades can no longer be delayed," Bhagat said, warning of public agitation if the situation failed to improve. MLA Prashant Thakur met MSEDCL Executive Engineer A. S. Mane and sought an explanation regarding the recurring outages, warning that if the power utility fails to address the issue and prevent similar incidents in the future, a larger public agitation could be launched. Residents have demanded immediate infrastructure upgrades, installation of additional transformers and adequate staffing to ensure reliable electricity supply in one of Navi Mumbai's fastest-growing residential hubs. The crisis has also had cascading effects on water supply, with residents in parts of Airoli, Ghansoli and Kamothe reporting interruptions in water distribution after pumping systems were affected by power failures.
