Powerless against the parties that disrupted work with back-to-back bandhs last week, Bengal’s tech hub was fretting over power cuts on Wednesday.

Sector V went without electricity for four phases of 5-10 minutes each during the course of the day, which probably didn’t bother the rest of the city much but was enough to get the techie and BPO brigade hot under the collar.

“Power going off three or four times for five to 10 minutes each is irritating. Most of the lights went out and the lifts stopped working,” said a techie who was stuck in the Technopolis elevator for 10 minutes.

Although Sector V does not have a dedicated feeder line like VIP zones, the state electricity board treats it as “a priority area” that should be spared the agony of power cuts. “There is an understanding between the government, the state electricity board and the companies in Sector V that there will not be a power cut even if there is a shortage,” a senior government official said.

None of the information technology companies in Sector V reported major work disruptions because they had back-up systems.

“We had two power cuts between 3pm and 3.30pm,” said Kalyan Kar, the managing director of Acclaris.

“The air-conditioners may have stopped working, but we did not have to log out,” said a software engineer in the same company.

The chairman of the Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority, S.A. Ahmed, confirmed that the power cuts did not disrupt work to the extent that companies suffered losses. “Power cuts in Sector V were frequent on Wednesday, but the state electricity board was prompt in responding to the situation.”

Sources in the board attributed the power trips to a “major buff bar fault” in the Kasba sub-station of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. “Our engineers arranged for power supply to Salt Lake from an alternative source within 20 minutes. The situation returned to normal by 4.30pm,” an official said.

Apart from Salt Lake, parts of south and central Calcutta experienced power cuts.