Lucknow Power Cuts Relief Soon: New FCI Substation To Benefit 1.25 Lakh Consumers In Para

Residents of Lucknow’s Para area are set to see clear relief from frequent outages and low voltage from next month. Around 1.25 lakh electricity consumers in this part of Uttar Pradesh are expected to get more stable supply once a new substation becomes operational.

The problem has been severe this summer across the state capital, with both urban and rural belts reporting long power cuts. In many places, voltage dropped sharply during peak demand, affecting fans, coolers and basic appliances, and leaving households struggling through humid nights.

Lucknow power supply upgrade through new FCI substation

To ease the situation in Para and nearby colonies, Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration is building a new FCI substation within the existing old FCI substation premises. The new facility is planned to start operations next month, which officials say should reduce both supply cuts and voltage drops.

At present, the old FCI substation runs with a total capacity of 25 MVA. It has two power transformers of 10 MVA each and one transformer of 5 MVA. About 26,000 consumers are connected here, and demand shoots up in extreme heat, putting heavy load on this setup.

Lucknow power supply set to improve in 3 dozen colonies

Once the new unit is commissioned, electricity arrangements are expected to improve in Para, Prabhatpuram, Muneshwarpuram, Chaudhary Tola, Chilouli, Revri, Salempur Pataura, Naraura, Waderkheda, Janata Vihar, Budheshwar Vihar, Pink City, Bhatpamau and more than thirty nearby colonies. These localities together cover nearly 1.25 lakh consumers who have faced problems for a long time.

Many of these neighbourhoods saw frequent tripping, often lasting several hours. When power went off on hot nights, people stepped out of homes and spent time walking on streets or sitting in open areas, as rooms became unbearable without fans.

Lucknow power supply boosted by new transformers

Under the expansion plan, two additional power transformers of 5 MVA each are being installed at the new FCI substation. With this added capacity, officials expect smoother load management. Pressure on existing transformers should fall, which can reduce technical faults and long breakdowns.

Residents had earlier staged protests several times at the old substation due to prolonged cuts. On some occasions, angry consumers blocked roads after repeated supply failures and low voltage damaged electrical equipment. These demonstrations highlighted the stress on the current system during summer peaks.

The scale of the system stress became visible between Tuesday night and Wednesday evening, when multiple cable faults were reported across the city. There were incidents of transformer failures and fires in underground cables. These faults triggered widespread panic as several areas remained without supply for extended durations.

Chief Engineer K. Ram Kumar from the Amausi zone said that construction work on the new FCI substation is moving quickly and that it should start operating next month. “This will provide better voltage and uninterrupted supply to large areas like Prabhatpuram and Muneshwarpuram. Along with this, the load on the old substation will decrease, which will also reduce technical flaws,” K. Ram Kumar said.

Lucknow power supply data and existing capacity

The current and proposed capacities at the FCI substation can be seen below.

Across Lucknow, the mix of old equipment and rising demand has created a fragile network during heatwaves. From the core city to outer regions, the combination of outages, low voltage and slow fault repair has turned electricity into a daily concern for many households and small businesses.

The report on these developments is written by Deep Narayan Pandey, a senior journalist associated with Live Hindustan for the past eight years. Deep Narayan Pandey has more than fifteen years of experience in digital, television and print journalism, with a strong focus on Uttar Pradesh politics, crime, society, infrastructure, tourism, education and health.

Deep Narayan Pandey, originally from Gonda in Uttar Pradesh, completed BA and MA in Mass Communication. The journalism journey began in Lucknow with a television channel, followed by work with Amar Ujala in Lucknow and later with Hindustan’s print editions in Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Lucknow as desk in-charge for several districts. Coverage includes the 2012, 2017 and 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Lok Sabha elections and panchayat elections.

With the new FCI substation in Para expected to start next month, residents of affected Lucknow neighbourhoods may finally see fewer outages and better voltage. If the project runs as planned, the load reduction on the old substation and new transformers together should provide more reliable electricity to roughly 1.25 lakh consumers.