Patiala, April 24 -- Amid mounting public outrage over prolonged power cuts during prevailing heatwave, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has revised its protocol for planned outages, capping the duration at a maximum of four hours per day. In an official order issued on April 23, the PSPCL management noted that zonal offices had been proposing outages ranging from 6 to 8 hours for maintenance and new works. However, citing the sudden rise in temperature and the need to provide relief to the public, the corporation has now restricted such outages to four hours daily. "No planned outage for maintenance or new works shall exceed a duration of 4 hours per day," reads the letter issued on Thursday by director distribution. The revised protocol comes a day after PSPCL faced criticism for enforcing scheduled power cuts ranging from 8 to 10 hours across major cities, including Patiala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Mohali and Bathinda. The outages, implemented between April 21 and 28, triggered widespread complaints from residents already grappling with extreme heat conditions. Officials had defended the cuts, citing ongoing maintenance and infrastructure upgrades ahead of the peak paddy season, when power demand is expected to exceed 17,000 MW. While cutting down the daily outages hours, PSPCL has also mandated stricter supervision and accountability. Senior officers have been directed to conduct random site inspections to ensure work quality and progress, the letter reads....