2012 India blackouts
Two severe
Background
The private sector had spent $29 billion to build their own independent power stations in order to provide reliable power to their factories, and the five biggest consumers of electricity in India had private off-grid supplies. In total, Indian companies had 35 GW of private off-grid generation capacity at the time of the blackouts and planned to add another 33 GW to their off-grid capacity in the aftermath.[14]
Administratively, the Indian electrical power system is divided into
On the days of the blackout, utilities had taken multiple
Sequence of events
30 July
In addition to the transmission lines under maintenance, multiple interties between the Western and Northern regions
At 02:35
Officials described the failure as "the worst in a decade",[16] and a power company director noted that the "fairly large breakdown...exposed major technical faults in India's grid system. Something went terribly wrong which caused the backup safety systems to fail."[17]
More than 300 million people, about 25% of India's population, were without power. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (
It took 15 hours to restore 80% of service,[17] which Power Grid Corporation of India chairman's called "a record time".[6]
31 July
The following day recapitulated much of the July 30 collapse. Again, few grid lines connected the Western and Northern regions; again, those interties loaded beyond usual service; again, the LDCs requested the Northern region shed load and the Western region reduce generation; again, the utilities' reaction was too small; and around 13:02 IST (07:32 UTC), again the Western and Northern regions separated, with power circling through the Eastern region grid. However, unlike the previous day, the
As a result, power stations across the affected parts of India went offline. NTPC Ltd. stopped 38% of its generation capacity.[21] Over 60 crore (600 million) people (nearly half of India's population), in 22 out of 28 states in India, were without power.[5][22]
More than 300 intercity passenger trains and commuter lines were shut down as a result of the power outage.[23][24] The worst affected zones in the wake of the power grid's collapse were Northern, North Central, East Central, and East Coast railway zones, with parts of Eastern, South Eastern and West Central railway zones. The Delhi Metro suspended service on all six lines, and had to evacuate passengers from trains that stopped mid-journey, helped by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.[21]
About 200 miners were trapped underground in eastern India due to lifts failing, but officials later said they had all been rescued.[25]
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), not normally mandated to investigate blackouts, began to do so because of the threat to basic infrastructure facilities like railways, metro rail system, lifts in multi-storey buildings, and movement of vehicular traffic.[26][27]
The following states were affected by the grid failure:[28]
- states on the northern grid: Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- states on the eastern grid: Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim
- states on the northeast grid: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura
The following regions were not directly affected by the power outage:[29]
- Narora, Renukoot and Simbhaoli in Uttar Pradesh
- parts of Delhi such as Badarpur
- areas served by Sterlite and Ib Thermal Power Station (most of western Odisha)
- most of the Kolkata municipal area (CESC system)
As of 2 August, Uttar Pradesh was being supplied about 7 GW power, while the demand was between 9 and 9.7 GW.[30]
Reactions
On the day of the collapse, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde ordered a three-member panel to determine the reason for the failure and report on it in fifteen days.[31] In response to criticism, he observed that India was not alone in suffering major power outages, as blackouts had also occurred in the United States and Brazil within the previous few years.[32]
Washington Post described the failure as adding urgency to Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's plan for a US$400 billion overhaul of India's power grid. His plan calls for a further 76 gigawatts of generation by 2017,[17] produced in part by nuclear power.
Rajiv Kumar, secretary general of the
On 1 August 2012, newly appointed Power Minister Veerappa Moily stated, "First thing is to stabilize the grid and it has to sustain. For that we will work out a proper strategy." He declined to blame specific states, saying, "I don't want to start with the blame game."[34]
Team Anna, the supporters of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, charged that this grid failure was a conspiracy to suppress the indefinite fast movement started on 25 July 2012 for the Jan Lokpal Bill and targeting Sharad Pawar.[35][36]
Some
Investigation
The three-member investigation committee consisted of S. C. Shrivastava, A. Velayutham and A. S. Bakshi. It examined the causes of the blackout, and practicability of ensuring continued rail services during grid collapse, and issued its report on 16 August 2012. The committee found multiple systemic factors that predisposed the grid to collapse.[15]
In general, utilities appeared to have invested little in blackout prevention, or done so pro forma. Power dispatch centers had insufficient monitoring tools to manage power flows, and used unreliable
Many heavily loaded transmission lines appeared to have inadequate
The committee also suggested that
The
The committee also noticed that the grid appeared to have insufficient
The investigation also refuted rumors that the grid had been brought down by a cyberattack.[15]: 59, 61
See also
References
- ^ "Massive power cut hits India". BBC News. 2 January 2001. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ Pidd, Helen (31 July 2012). "India blackouts leave 700 million without power". India. The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Sarma, Hriday; Russell, Ruby (31 July 2012). "Second day of India's electricity outage hits 620 million". USA Today. Gannett. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
- ^ "India's Mass Power Failure Worst Ever in World History". Outlook. Press Trust of India. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Power crisis now trips 22 states, 600 million people hit". Deccan Herald. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mehuddia, Sujay; Ramachandaran, Smriti Rak (30 July 2012). "Worst outage cripples north India". National. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- Wall Street Journal. Archived from the originalon 12 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ "Power grids fail: Power restoration complete in Delhi & North East, 50% in Eastern region". The Economic Times. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Harris, Gardiner; Bajaj, Vikas (1 August 2012). "As Power Is Restored in India, the 'Blame Game' Over Blackouts Heats Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ Malhotra, Ajay (2 August 2012). "How businesses pay for India's unreliable power system". SME Mentor. moneycontrol.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ^ "Indian Businesses Weather Blackouts, but at a Cost". ABC News. United States. Associated Press. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Kumar Singh, Rajesh; Katakey, Rakteem (1 August 2012). "Worst India Outage Highlights 60 Years of Missed Targets". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ Express News Service (26 July 2013). "Address power transmission and distribution losses". Archived from the original on 31 July 2013.
- ^ a b Rajesh Kumar Singh and Rakteem Katakey (3 August 2012). "Ambani, Tata 'Islands' Shrug Off Grid Collapse: Corporate India". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Report of the Enquiry Committee on Grid Disturbance in Northern Region on 30th July 2012 and in Northern, Eastern & North-Eastern Region on 31st July 2012" (PDF). powermin.InvestRpt. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ a b Sruthi Gottipatti and Niharika Mandhana (30 July 2012). "Power Restored to Most of north India". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d Kartikay Mehrotra and Andrew MacAskill (31 July 2012). "Singh's $400 Billion Power Plan Gains Urgency as Grid Collapses". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "When the lights went out". Hindustan Times. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ a b c "Power cut causes major disruption in northern India". BBC News. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ "Power grid failure: FAQs". Hindustan Times. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ a b Kartikay Mehrotra and Rakteem Katakey (31 July 2012). "India Blacks Out From New Delhi to Kolkata as Grid Fails Again". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Gardiner Harris and Heather Timmons (31 July 2012). "Half of India Crippled by Second Day of Power Failures". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Saurabh Chaturvedi and Santanu Choudhury (31 July 2012). "India's Power Grid Collapses Again". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Multiple grid collapses hit train services again". First Post. Press Trust of India. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Hundreds of millions without power in India". BBC News. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Vishwa Moham (31 July 2012). "Blackout expands NDMA's scope". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Power supply partially restored; Modi attacks PM". First Post. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ "India faces worst blackout as grids collapse hits 20 states, 60 crore people". IBN. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Preliminary report on grid disturbance in NEW grid on 31st July 2012" (PDF). National Load Dispatch Centre. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Northern power grid was again on verge of tripping". Hindustan Times. Indo-Asian News Service. 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ "Greedy states send power grid crashing". Hindustan Times. 30 July 2012. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ "Power grid failure makes 370M swelter in dark as India struggles to meet its vast energy needs". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 30 July 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Simon Denyer and Rama Lakshmi (31 July 2012). "India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Don't want to start with blame game: Veerappa Moily". IBN. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ "Team Anna calls grid failure a conspiracy, targets Pawar". IBN. 30 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ "Team Anna sees conspiracy in northern power grid collapse". The Economic Times. Press Trust of India. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ "Power crisis and grid collapse: Is it time to think different, small and local?". SME Mentor. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ Bullis, Kevin (31 July 2012). "How power outages in India may one day be avoided". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "The smart grid vision for India's power sector" (PDF). USAID India. March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
External links
- Official report of the enquiry committee Archived 2 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine