Guwahati's Power Woes Amid Heavy Rain: APDCL's Performance Called Into Question

A brief spell of rain on Sunday morning was enough to plunge parts of Guwahati into darkness and waterlogging, triggering concerns about the preparedness and real-time efficiency of the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL). Several areas of the city remained without electricity for nearly six hours, with residents expressing frustration over the disruption caused by what was a relatively short bout of rainfall.

The incident comes at a time when Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently praised APDCL for securing the second position in the national DISCOM rankings—just behind Andhra Pradesh. According to the latest report by the Ministry of Power, APDCL secured 10th position in Consumer Service Ratings (CSDR), 8th in the 13th Integrated Ratings among state utilities, and 4th in the State Utility Rankings. The overall ranking stood at an impressive second place nationally, drawing widespread appreciation.

However, Sunday's outage has cast doubt on whether the performance metrics reflect the ground reality. Commuters had a hard time navigating waterlogged roads amid the power cut, while residents took to social media to express their frustration over yet another episode of unexplained load shedding.

While APDCL has not officially clarified the cause behind Sunday’s prolonged power disruption, speculations are rife that overloaded distribution networks, inadequate drainage around critical infrastructure, or faulty transformers may be key culprits. “It’s puzzling how a city-wide outage happens after just a short rainfall. If APDCL ranks so high nationally, what explains this fragility?” questioned a local resident.

Across Assam, load shedding has been a recurring issue. Though less frequent in cities, rural and semi-urban areas reportedly face hours-long blackouts—often without prior notice or explanation. In many cases, citizens remain unaware of the reason for the disconnection, leading to public outcry online.

Experts speculate that the real reasons could range from poor infrastructure resilience to lack of preventive maintenance, or even inadequate staffing for emergency response during off-hours. Others point to aging power lines, transformer failures, or even software glitches in automated distribution systems as potential vulnerabilities.

As APDCL continues to receive accolades on paper, the pressing question remains—can the utility match its rankings with consistent, real-time service on the ground?

Until a formal explanation is offered, residents of Guwahati—and the rest of Assam—are left to brace for the next rainfall, unsure whether it might bring power and water disruptions along with it.

Also Read: Assam CM Lauds APDCL For Ranking 2nd Among India’s Top Power Distributors