Patna, April 17: Power played truant last night and this morning for long hours in the western part of the city that houses many VVIPs and important government institutions because of a technical snag at the grid sub-station and feeder at Khagaul that supplies electricity to the region.

The residents of the upscale localities in the western part of the city — most of whom have been insulated from the power crisis that has gripped the state for the past one month — got a taste of the harrowing experience after the light went off at 9pm on Saturday.

Their woes did not end when the power supply was restored at 1am. Those planning to wake up late on Sunday morning had to leave their bed early as the power went off again at 7am. It returned only after an hour-and-a-half.

The power tripped last night because a jumper, which joins circuit, snapped at the Khagaul 2 feeder. The affected areas were Excise Colony, Veterinary College area, Valmi and AG Colony.

The patients of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), too, were not spared. The state government job aspirants also suffered.

“We could not sleep properly because of the power cut a day before such an important examination,” said Rajiv Nagar resident Ajay Kumar, who will take the Bihar Public Service Commission examination on Monday.

This morning, the power played truant because Sampatchak super power grid, which receives the electricity from Kahalgaon thermal power plant and supplies it to Khagaul grid sub-station, tripped. The residents of Bailey Road, Ashiana Nagar, Jagdeo Path, Samanpura, Phulwarisharif, AG Colony, Excise Colony, Veterinary College area, IGIMS area, Valmi, Boring Road, Boring Canal Road, Rajiv Nagar, Indrapuri, Mahesh Nagar, Patel Nagar and Alpana Market woke up to a powerless morning.

Explaining the reason for the unavailability of power today, Patna Electric Supply Undertaking (Pesu) general manager-cum-chief engineer SKP Singh said: “The power supply was hampered for an hour-and-a-half because the Sampatchak super grid tripped.”

On being asked about the delay in restoring power last night, the Pesu official told The Telegraph: “We have to first locate the fault point where the jumper has burnt or snapped. This takes time, particularly in the night. We tried to restore the supply within three to four hours, which is less than the prescribed norms of the regulatory commission. According to the regulations, power supply has to be restored within six hours.”

Indrapuri resident Poonam Singh said: “We were spared some trouble because it was Sunday. Had it been a working day, an early morning power cut would have been traumatic. It would have been very difficult to send the children to school after a night of fitful sleep and early morning power cut.”

Shanker Prasad, a grocery shop owner at Magistrate Colony in Ashiana Nagar, is contemplating moving to a different apartment in search of uninterrupted power supply.

“Given the poor power situation, I am planning to move to an apartment that has a power back-up,” said Prasad.

The Pesu official said the Khagaul grid is overloaded. This problem will be solved only after the Digha grid becomes operational, he added.