A 28-year-old man was electrocuted and his friend suffered an electric shock, battling for life in Neelankarai on Saturday.  

City police said R. Ravikumar and M. Muthukumar had rented a property in Vettuvankeni of Neelankarai and were staying there for over a month.

On Saturday night, both had gone to the terrace and were consuming liquor. As both of them were talking, Ravikumar got up and went to the edge of the terrace and was gesturing something when he touched a live overhead wire passing near the terrace. Ravikumar was electrocuted instantly and Muthukumar tried to save him and also received electric shock.

Hearing their cries, nearby residents sent them to Perumbakkam Government Hospital where the doctors pronounced Ravikumar had died. 

The Neelankarai Police, on being alerted, sent the body to Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination, while his friend Muthukumar was shifted to the hospital and is undergoing treatment. 

After a section of residents in Palavakkam and Neelankarai staged a protest complaining about low voltage and power disruptions on Monday night, senior officials of the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) pacified the crowd and installed an additional transformer on Tuesday. 

M. Santosh, a resident of Pandian Street of Palavakkam, said the thickly populated residential area has been experiencing power fluctuations in the day time as well as night time. 

A senior official of the electricity department said the power disruption in a pocket of the locality was caused by the overloading of the distribution transformer installed on Pandian Street of the Neelankarai Link Road. However, to prevent the frequent tripping of the transformer, a new transformer was installed on Tuesday, the official added. 

As the city’s residents have been facing severe heat conditions, the peak power demand touched an all-time high of 4,852 megawatts (MW) on May 22, and has been crossing 4,650 MW a day for the past few days, said a senior official of the electricity department. However, the peak demand in the State has not even touched 19,000 MW. The rising temperature in the city in the past week has resulted in high power demand, leading to disruptions happening in some parts of the city including Royapettah, T. Nagar and Alwarpet. 

Ameer Hamsa, a resident of Dr. Besant Road in Royapettah, said residents experienced power disruption for more than one-hour on May 22 last week. 

The senior electricity official said that Electricity Minister R. Nirmal Kumar has been reviewing the city distribution network on a daily basis. In case of any lag in rectifying power disruptions, strict action would be taken, the official added. 

Peak power demand in the city on Monday stood at 4,684 MW. The last time the city reached the highest peak demand was 4,769 MW on May 31, 2024. In 2025 the peak demand did not cross 4,600 MW, the official added.