Uttar Pradesh was plunged into darkness in the wee hours on Monday after the collapse of the northern grid. In UP, the peak hour demand stands at about 12,000 Mw, and 10,000 Mw is supplied by the state power utility Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). In a late night development, A P Mishra was appointed the new chairman and managing director of UPPCL, replacing Avnish Awasthi. Earlier, Awasthi claimed 40-50 per cent normality had been restored by 10:30 am, and by the evening, all operations were likely to normalise.
By afternoon, the state’s hydel power generation had returned to normal. Some thermal units had also started generating power.
“All state power lines have been switched on and now the individual power units are expected to synchronise to the grid,” Awasthi informed.
He brushed aside suggestions that UP could be responsible for the crisis, since the epicentre of the trouble was reported near Agra.
“The Grid is managed by Northern Regional Load Dispatch Centre (NRLDC) and as per our preliminary report, it was not our (UPPCL) fault. But, we will look into the matter and inquire further,” he underlined.
Several trains, including Gomti and Shatabdi were affected due to grid failure in the state.
Power demand and supply mismatch is the major reason for any grid failure.
“This grid failure is not normal as it shows that the isolator failed to work, when the trouble erupted,” All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) secretary general Shailendra Dubey said. He said isolator should have shut only the troubled line, while facilitating other transmission lines to function normally.
Until the filing of this report, UPPCL was supplying 4,439 Mw of power. Awasthi said four thermal units at Anpara, Harduaganj, Obra and Roja had started to function, while the state was getting its share of power from the Centre.
“Most industrial units function during daytime. The impact of grid failure was not felt due to night hrs and besides power also started getting restored in the morning,” Indian Industries Association (IIA) executive director D S Verma said adding most units also keep power backup as well.