Massive power failure cripples Kolkata

All the four units of the CESC, which supplies electricity to the metropolis, tripped simultaneously in the Sunday afternoon, leading to a massive power failure causing suspension of the Metro services and the emergency services in hospitals. The four power generating stations - Budge Budge, Titagarh, Kashipur and Southern generating station - which have a combined capacity of 980 MW, tripped together at 4.45 pm, CESC executive director D Sen said.

Sen said the engineers and top officials of the private utility were trying to locate the fault and restore the power supply. He claimed, “Things are coming back to normal.” The power outage forced Metro services to be suspended between 4.42 pm and 4.48 pm, a Metro Railway spokesman said. Most hospitals were also left without their emergency services due to the disruption in the power supply. Asked what caused the tripping, Sen said they were yet to pinpoint the reason as their priority now was to quickly restore the supply.