Power woes far from over: Northern grid on verge of collapse

Lucknow: Power woes could be far from over as the Northern Grid was on the verge of tripping yet again, officials here said on Thursday. According to sources in the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), the 400 kv double circuit line between Gwalior and Agra faced “dangerous overloading” on Wednesday evening and could have triggered a grid collapse, but for some wise and timely intervention of powermen that saved the day. [caption id=“attachment_401640” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Realising that the load on this crucial line had reached 800 MW in the evening, the powermen scaled it down to 600 MW by cutting electricity in many parts fed by this line. The power situation continued to be in a “state of despair” as only about 75 percent of power was restored after Tuesday’s grid collapse that brought the state to a grinding halt. According to officials, power supply to industries had recovered and by Thursday noon power to all industrial areas of Kanpur, central Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand would be completely restored. On Thursday, the state was being supplied about 7,000 MW power, while the demand was somewhere between 9,000-9,700 MW, an official said. Out of these, Roza power plant was supplying 970 MW, thermal power plants were generating 1,770 MW and 500 MW was from hydro power projects. The state was getting 3,770 MW from the central quota as well. Officials and engineers have been asked to be alert and adhere to grid discipline at all costs, said A.P. Mishra, new managing director of the UPPCL. IANS