Kohima: Residents of Wokha’s Police Reserve Colony and parts of Blue Hill Colony have lived without power since September 4. The prolonged blackout stopped cooking and charging devices, while stalled refrigerators ruined perishable food. The outage also hit the Office of the Superintendent of Police, which sits inside the Police Reserve premises.
Executive Engineer Chenosing Kemp blamed the failure on overloading. He noted that the 100 kVA transformer serving the NAP camp and the public is now being fixed in Dimapur. The SP office relies on a separate 25 kVA unit, which the department is also repairing. A backlog at the Dimapur facility means no one knows when the lights will come back on. The department lacks a spare 100 kVA unit to bridge the gap.
Kemp pointed to a recent success in Zuvotong and Blue Hill Colony, where crews restored power in under a week because they had a standby 250 kVA transformer ready. He said the current crisis highlights why the town needs better oversight. "The department has been conducting awareness programmes and encouraging consumers to install smart meters as part of efforts to improve the electricity distribution system and provide a more stable power supply."
Officials claim residents often push back against these installations. The department maintains that smart meters are the only way to manage heavy electrical loads and stop future equipment meltdowns.
Updated at 30th September 2026 at 9:47am
The power crisis is now entering its third week. Residents report that inverters have completely run out of charge, further crippling their ability to communicate or continue work and studies during the blackout.
Despite repeated pleas from the community, the Electrical Division admits that the backlog at the Dimapur repair centre remains the primary bottleneck. The department confirmed that the Police Reserve and NAP camp units failed before the Zuvotong equipment, yet the lack of a compatible spare 100 kVA unit continues to leave these specific neighborhoods stranded.
The Electrical Division stated that their teams have proactively approached local residents to push for smart meter adoption, even following these recent transformer failures. Officials maintain that some colonies are still digging in their heels and refusing the installations despite the ongoing outage.
Updated at 30th September 2026 at 9:49pm
Relief is finally on the horizon for the Police Reserve, Chanka, and NAP camp areas. The Electrical Division has secured a replacement 100 kVA transformer after nearly four weeks of repairs at the central facility in Dimapur. Executive Engineer Chenosing Kemp confirmed that a vehicle is already en route to collect the unit, with installation set to begin as soon as it reaches Wokha.
Kemp cited a new Standard Operating Procedure that slowed the process, requiring the local division to clear administrative hurdles with the head office before receiving the replacement. Despite the wait, the department noted that they have managed to install six other 100 kVA transformers across the town this year to combat the strain of a growing population.
Residents are pushing back against the department's focus on smart meters, pointing to immediate safety and economic hazards. Community representatives raised alarms about un-fenced transformer sites posing a physical risk. Meanwhile, the prolonged outage has forced students to travel into town just to photocopy exam papers, and local vendors dealing in meat and fish report that the lack of refrigeration has gutted their livelihoods. Residents are calling for a deeper investigation into illegal connections and bill defaults, arguing that the entire locality should not pay the price for systemic issues.
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