Calcutta, May 17: A fault in a 250MW unit at CESC’s plant in Budge Budge that caused widespread power cuts in the city and nearby areas could also spoil the evening for Kolkata Knight Rider fans tomorrow.

CESC officials said the Budge Budge unit was shut down after a mechanical fault this afternoon. “We are trying to repair the fault and revive the unit by tomorrow morning,” a CESC official said.

It is important to correct the fault because of the IPL match in Eden Gardens tomorrow between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, the official added. “If we cannot revive the unit tomorrow morning, Calcutta may run the risk of a power cut in the evening and many viewers may miss the match on TV.”

There was a shortfall of 66MW in CESC-served areas this evening. The power cuts lasted for at least an hour, in some places for two hours.

The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company supplied 517MW to the CESC grid to help the private power utility fight the crisis.

Power department sources said the shortfall in Calcutta would have crossed 250MW had it not been for the rain that brought down the power supply demand.

Storm death

A man died near Sovabazar after a tree fell on him this evening. Police said the man was in an auto-rickshaw when the tree got uprooted and fell on the vehicle because of a storm.