I’ve been staying in India since 2018, and the storms here are impressive. But one thing that is annoying is that the power inevitably cuts when it starts to rain, so I decided to figure out why…
Power cuts happen more often when it rains because lightning strikes and heavy winds can damage lines and cause power surges. Rainwater also reduces the insulation capacity of electronics, so the fuses will short circuit more easily. Sometimes there are precautionary power cuts.
India has made big strides with its electrical grid since 2017. At that time there were 300 million people without power at all. In 2018, every village in India was connected to the grid, which is quite a feat since the country is so vast and some villages are so remote.
The infratructure has been upgraded in many places.
But there’s still a lot to do and if your power is cutting when it rains, or you’re researching India and trying to figure out where you might be able to stay without power cuts, then read on.
In this article, we’ll cover why the power cuts during rainstorms and what you can do to keep your devices working.
4 Reasons the Power Cuts When It Rains
1) Lightning Cause Power Surges
Lighting has millions of electron volts, which can short fuses, knock down trees, or even strike transformers and destroy expensive equipment.
Because many power lines are distributed above ground in overhead lines, these lines are impacted by the change in electrostatic charges from lightning. This can cause power surges and power cuts.
To protect the electrical grid, there are fuses along the street, which will blow, if the electricity spikes. There’s one near my home here actually, I’m looking at it out the window right now.
If the fuse blows, all the homes connected to these lines will lose power.
Fortunately, a blown fuse is an easy fix. Send out a technician and he checks the fuse, then flip it back on or replace it. They even have machines that can be installed to automatically flip the fuse back on, if it happens again.
If lightning strikes a transformer though or knocks trees or branches onto the wire, then the power is going to be cut for hours… at least. It could be days before power can be restored.
Transformers are expensive and replacing one takes time. If a tree falls on a wire, then the station needs to send out a technician to cut it down and remove it. Then replace the damaged equipment.
Distribution companies will send these technicians out immediately when the power goes out (thank you, technicians! My little brother is one actually 🙂 but it can still take hours or days to get your power restored.
Try to be patient! Technicians are literally risking their life sometimes to get the power back on. After hearing stories from my brother and worrying about him, it’s help me to not lose my cool when the power cuts during the rain. 😊
2) Heavy Winds Can Damage Wires and Transformers
If a branch or another wire comes into contact with a wire, protective measures can tell and will interrupt the power to avoid damage. It’s even worse if trees fall on wires or knockdown entire poles. This is very common during heavy winds.
In 2018, a stormed ripped through Bengaluru and knocked down 50 trees. Some of the trees had fallen on main lines which led to a huge number of outages… there were 1,200 complaints!
Yet most people probably couldn’t see the fallen trees, so they just assumed it was a typical power cut and got angry.
To get the power back on, the technicians need to first figure out where the problem is, which can take some time in a heavy storm. Then they clear the trees and finally put up new electrical poles, even while the rain continued to pour.
However, by morning most of the power across the city had been restored.
3) Faulty Infrastructure Is More Prone to Short Circuit in the Rain
In 2012, India had the largest power outage in history. All across North India, the power grid failed and 620 million people (half of the population) lost power.
Since then India has made improving electricity a big priority and in 2018, every village in India was connected to the power grid.
In many places, the electrical equipment and transformers were decades old, so they needed to be replaced and there has been a lot of upgrading.
But when I drive around the small city I am staying in India, sometimes I wonder how the power even works at all!
Some of the power lines are covered with different colored wires, heading all different directions. Other times I’ve seen sparks coming from street lights. The other day I saw another line taped to a wire with the end going into an empty plastic soda bottle, then heading away from the pole low to the ground. What!?
I’ve read in some articles that the distribution company workers are to blame. They don’t do the work properly with high-quality parts and make sure the job is done right. I’ve also read that local people can tap into the electrical grid themselves and steal power, leading to a number of DIY-looking power lines.
Nagaland is one of the most rural states in India and loses 60% of its generated power through the lines and distribution system.
With poorly functioning infrastructure, the rainwater makes it harder for the equipment to insulate itself from power surges and shorts, so this can lead to more blown fuses and more power cuts.
4) Some Power Cuts Are a Precaution
If there are heavy winds and a lot of rain, the distribution company could cut the power to avoid damaging any equipment.
This happened in Pune in 2020, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited cut the power supply to 340 lines leading to villages nearby as a precaution. This was after trees damaged 540 supply lines in the city over the course of two days.
The benefit of a precautionary cut is that the power will come back on sooner. There could be fewer damages to the lines that need to be replaced. And your power could come back on when the rains and winds lessen.
Tips To Keep Your Devices Running During Power Cuts
I know that having the power cut can be at best annoying, at worst it could hurt your ability to care for your family, do your job, or finish your schoolwork.
For me, I was working more than 40 hours online for over a year here in India. I was even able to complete my work during the power cuts by taking certain precautions.
1) Live Close To Important Areas Of Your City
I live within a kilometer of our electricity board, which can help keep my power on longer. It will also be restored quickly. Something would have to happen to the lines within the power company and my home, and since it’s such a short distance… this is less likely.
If I lived further out in a village, then there would be a higher chance of losing power. With the many kilometers of lines between myself and the power generators, any damage to those would lead to a loss of power at my place.
2) Buy Backup Power
Many homes and hotels in India have a backup power in the form of an inverter UPS. Others have a gas powered generator.
If you are staying in India long-term it can be very helpful to rent a place with one already installed. Or you can buy one on Amazon with a good battery (check the current prices here).
This will keep some devices on in your home, like a fan, your laptop, or your wifi router. You can also keep your refrigerator going or tv.
You wouldn’t be able to keep your air-conditioning going though, unless you buy some serious battery power, which most places don’t have.
You also can only keep the power on for 6 hours for most reasonably priced batteries.
I have never used an inverter, except when staying at hotels. Instead, I use a few other methods to continue working online during power cuts.
3) Join The Right Mobile Network
When my power goes out, my wifi router won’t work so I lose my internet. BUT I can still work online, because I turn on my mobile hotspot.
Using this method I have continued Skype calls, important meetings, and of course, basic writing and editing using Google Docs or WordPress.
My girlfriend also used this method as she taught English online for months. If the power cut during her video lessons, she would just turn on her phone and continue.
You have to be sure that you have the right mobile network for your area, because some will cut out with the power. In India, there are so many regional differences, you’ll have to ask around your area or test the networks yourself.
We have a FB group for our community that I would ask on. Most tourist places in India have a similar group that you can join and get help.
I use Vodafone and it works, and my girlfriend used Airtel which also works. Friends tell me that Jio is now the most popular network with the fastest speeds.
4) Go To A Nice Restaurant Or Hotel
There’s a nice chill restaurant near my house with a generator and if I need power, then I will head there to work.
They fire up the loud generator and I can continue working online with a fan.
Most nice hotels will have generators as well, and some have cafes you can come to enjoy.
You can also buy a hotel room for very reasonable prices in India (check Booking.com for more details).
5) Buy A PowerBank
I use a powerbank to keep my mobile phone charged. If the power is out for 8 hours, which happens once a month, this means I can work the entire time without my phone dying.
They now even have laptop power banks. I’ve never used them, but you can check the price of a good one here on Amazon.
Instead, I do something else to make sure I can continue to use my computer during power cuts.
6) Keep Your Devices Charged
I keep my laptop and mobile phone charged at all times (or most times 😉 So if the power goes out, I know I have at least 4 hours of work that I can do.
This means I keep my laptop charged as I work, and definitely plug it in at night. I do the same with my phone.
7) Buy A Battery-Powered Fan
If you don’t need much extra power, so don’t want to invest in full backup power, you can just buy a battery-powered fan.
This was the solution I went with and for a reasonable price you can keep the air moving in the room (you can check the current price of a good fan on Amazon).
For me, this was enough, especially coupled with a cold shower when it is so hot during the summer. 🥵
Final Words:
In India and many other countries, the power cuts during the rain which can be very frustrating. If this is happening to you, it’s usually because of a few reasons such as: lightning causes a surge, heavy winds damage the lines, rain damages the infrastructure, or it’s a precautionary power cut.
To keep the power on in your home, try living near the power station or downtown, buying backup power, getting the right mobile network to continue to use the internet, going to a nice hotel or restaurant with a generator, keeping your devices charged, or buying a battery-powered fan.
For more, I wrote a post about why power cuts happen in India? It covers the other complex reasons why the power cuts consistently.
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