Ghaziabad, Jan 18 (IANS): Ghaziabad residents faced unprecedented power outages throughout Friday night, caused by the heavy downpour.

Superintendent Engineer (Distribution), S.B. Yadav said after the rain Friday, a breakdown occurred within 15 minutes in all the transmission lines due to which the power went off in 19 power stations of the 33 KV lines of the city.

The repair work was delayed for more than four hours due to alleged differences between the transmission and distribution officials.

"The problem occurred in the distribution lines from the power station. The power supply could be restored in four power stations around midnight. But since the major fault occurred in the remaining 15 power stations, the repair work could not be carried out so the residents had to face the problem throughout the night," said S.P. Ram, superintendent engineer of transmission.

"We have undertaken the repair work on a priority basis since morning and we hope the power supply would be back to normal shortly," he added.