North India may face power cut as 3 plants shut

Northern states, including Delhi, could face power cuts as three hydro-power plants that together supply about 3,000 Mw of electricity to the region have been shut.

Nathpa Jhakri, Karcham-Wangtoo and Chamera II hydro-power projects have been shut temporarily due to high silt levels in water, sources said. Electricity generated in these three hydro-power plants is fed to Northern Grid, that caters to 28 per cent of the country's population. A Power Grid Corp official said there is shortfall of around 3,000 MW supply to the Northern Grid due to non-generation by the three hydro projects. He said supply shortage in the grid was noticed at around 10 am, when the demand was about 33,000 Mw. However, the situation could not be termed as grid disturbance, he added.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government today said the state had averted the failure of the Northern Grid, as electricity supplies to certain districts were timely cut. “We timely succeeded in averting grid failure by cutting power supply to some districts," Principal Secretary Energy AK Gupta told reporters.

The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) averted the failure this morning, at around 10 am, when the grid frequency dropped to around 48.8, he said.

The frequency — generally referred to as the intensity at which electricity is supplied — is to be normally in the range of 49.7 to 50.2. According to Gupta, the incident took place even as Uttar Pradesh was under-drawing 588 Mw electricity.