Power cut in these areas of Bengaluru on December 10 amid ongoing maintenance. Bengaluru-News News

Although there is no official announcement from BESCOM for the scheduled power cuts in Bengaluru tomorrow, the past few weeks have shown that cuts in the city rarely follow a neat calendar. Maintenance work, feeder repairs, transformer load issues and weather-related stresses have resulted in sudden blackouts even on days without formal shutdown notices. Against this backdrop, there is a realistic possibility of small, local-specific disruptions tomorrow.

The major maintenance cycle of December, conducted from the 4th to the 8th, covered a large scope of substations and feeders. Although it officially ended just a few days ago, the nature of such upgrades means that follow-ups often remain.

A previously repaired feeder may need re-calibration, a transformer tested last week may need adjustment, and neighborhoods with older lines may need secondary repairs after new equipment is installed. This maintenance hangover often leads to sudden, unannounced outages in the following week.

Weather and weight are increasing the pressure

Bengaluru’s cold nights and hazy mornings also contribute to the unpredictability of the power grid. While the weather appears mild on the surface, temperature fluctuations can put additional stress on transformers and distribution lines.

Heating equipment in the morning, peak load in the evening and sudden surges during fog and cold conditions can put pressure on feeders that are already operating near their limits. When a line trips, it usually affects only a few streets, making it difficult for BESCOM to issue city-level alerts ahead of time.

These conditions make some parts of the city more vulnerable to power outages than others. Even on regular weekdays, residents of many areas have reported brief evening or morning blackouts linked to load imbalance or ongoing technical work.

Areas at high outage risk

South Bengaluru remains one of the most outage-prone areas this season. Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Arekere, Hulimavu, Banashankari and Begur road belts have all been part of several feeder maintenance programs recently. Subsequent adjustments are common whenever heavy work is performed on a linked network of feeders. Even without an official shutdown, these adjustments can cause brief interruptions in power, especially during the morning load shift.

East Bengaluru continues to experience instability due to its rapid growth and heavy substation load. HAL, Murugeshpalya, CV Raman Nagar, Marathahalli, Kundalahalli, Brookfield, AECS Layout and Varthur continue to face frequent flickers and short duration outages. Many of these interruptions are not planned but occur as a result of grid stress or transformer balancing measures.

Irregular outages are also seen in North Bengaluru, especially in Hebbal, Kempapura, RT Nagar, HBR Layout, Thanisandra and Nagavara. As the region rapidly expands, substations and feeders are being upgraded and rebalanced, sometimes causing night-time faults and morning resets. West Bengaluru is generally more stable, although industrial areas like Rajajinagar and Kamakshipalya report transformer-related outages from time to time.

Why residents should prepare

Given these patterns, widespread power cuts across Bengaluru tomorrow are unlikely. However, it would not be surprising if local, feeder-level reductions were seen during the morning or evening hours.

For many families and office goers who rely heavily on electricity for work-from-home setups, water pumps and medical equipment, a little preparation tonight can prevent last-minute inconvenience.

Charging essential appliances, topping up inverter batteries, storing water and completing power-dependent tasks quickly can help residents avoid disruptions. Even if tomorrow passes without any hiccups, such preparation never goes waste in a city where unannounced cuts are frequent.

At present, the possible outage in Bengaluru tomorrow is not determined by any formal notice but by the behavior of the grid this week. Completion of scheduled maintenance does not always guarantee immediate stability.

With cold weather, load fluctuations and pending follow-up work all playing a role, short outages remain a realistic possibility. In a city where power conditions can change without warning, the practical approach is to be prepared.