In the wake of the two mass breakdowns in the national electricity grid systems recently, the way Mumbai has been managing to &lsquo;island&rsquo; itself in this regard has interested many, especially in other big cities.

Mumbai's envied power islanding

Business Standard

The state power regulator today gave nod to Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co (better known as MahaVitaran) to hike power tariff by 16.48 per cent. The state-run discom had demanded a 17.68 per cent hike.

MERC approves 16.48% rate hike for MahaVitaran 

The Maharashtra government on Monday got a boost from Unique Identification Authority chief Nandan Nilekani, who said the state's model of linking UID data with citizen-related data compiled by various departments would be replicated across the country. Multiple departments &ldquo;have data in silos which do not talk to each other&rdquo; and linking this data with UID would bring in an integrated view and help governments to provide better service to citizens, believes Nilekani.

Maharashtra's Aadhaar model of linking govt data to be replicated 

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is expected to approve the cancellation of the contract awarded to Reliance Infrastructure to develop the Worli Haji Ali sea link project, citing lack of substantial action by the developer. The project entails an investment of Rs 5,100 crore.

MSRDC nod to scrap R-Infra sea link contract likely

Ammonium nitrate (AN), the use of which has been confirmed in Pune&rsquo;s recent bomb blasts, is not only legally imported in large quantities every year, but its use is also not tracked as it should be. Those in the know say as much as 3,500 tonnes of the imports are not accounted for.

Security gaps widening in explosive import

The power ministry&rsquo;s fresh communication reiterating its directives to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to put in place a framework to operationalise open access for the 1-Mw-and-above consumers has revived debate on the establishment of national bulk market (NBM).

Debate to operationalise national bulk market revives

Representatives of constituent states of the western region electricity grid, which survived last week's collapse of the northern and eastern grids, are meeting tomorrow to take stock and reviewthe situation.

Western grid states to review status, prevention today

For Sunil Karnekar, 35, from Khargalli near Murud in coastal Raigad distrirct, farming is a necessity. It remains one despite burgeoning pressures &mdash; global warming, falling soil fertility, rapidly falling prices of agricultural produce, lack of an effective marketing chain and, on top of all this, a chase by land buyers and middlemen to strike a deal.

Rural Maharashtra's livelihood pressures

To promote open access and competition in the sector, the power ministry today reiterated it could direct the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and the Forum of Regulators (FoR) to take necessary action, including framing of appropriate regulations, to implement the provisions of open access in the Electricity Act, 2003.
On November 30, 2011, the power ministry, along with the law ministry, had issued a circular, stating consumers with a capacity of 1 Mw or more were considered

PowerMin reiterates open access directive to CERC

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has initiated a probe into the national grid failiures of Monday and Tuesday.

CERC orders probe into grid failure, wants report by August 8

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) would rope in Israel&rsquo;s national water company, Mekorot, to carry out cloud seeding operations in the areas where major water reservoirs of the city are situated.

Cloud seeding: BMC to rope in Israel firm

The Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has put in place a plan to mitigate potential corruption in awarding forest and environmental licences, to hasten the entire process.

Environment ministry to revamp clearances 

The western region grid, covering Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa, is better placed compared to other regions. This is largely due to strict adherence to grid discipline and load management by constituent states. Mumbai is uniquely positioned, with islanding in place; in the event of tripping elsewhere in the country, the city gets isolated due to islanding.

Strict adherence to grid discipline in western region

Monday&rsquo;s grid collapse took place barely one-and-a-half months after the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), in a scathing order, had directed states, especially from the northern grid, to strictly follow the grid code and discipline to avoid overdrawal of power.

CERC's order on grid code adherence remains on paper

The empowered group of minister (EGoM) on drought is working on a relief package for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, which have been severely hit by the deficient rainfall this year. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, also the EGoM&rsquo;s chairman, in an interview with Sanjay Jog, talks about the ground conditions in these states and the slew of measures to be announced soon.

EGoM to fix package for drought-hit states on August 8: Sharad Pawar 

Villagers affected by the Navi Mumbai International Airport project have agreed to joint measurement of the 274 hectares to be acquired for the project. The measurement would be carried out along with Maharashtra revenue department officials. The exercise is expected to begin in a fortnight.

Affected villagers agree to joint measurement of land

The Congress and its partner in Maharashtra, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), would look at how to strengthen their coalition to return to power in the 2014 Assembly elections.

Congress, NCP to strengthen coalition

Could Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar lead the divided National Democratic Alliance (NDA)? Would he leave the embattled United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ahead of the 2014 general elections? Yes, if one asks veteran Shiv Sena leader and former Lok Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi.

Pawar can lead NDA to power: Manohar Joshi

The Maharashtra government may reconsider the redevelopment of land by private textile mills in Mumbai. The state urban development is expected to prepare a status report on this soon.

Maharashtra may revisit redevelopment of textile mill land

The Congress-led government in Maharashtra on Sunday said yesterday&rsquo;s violence by a mob of youths at Azad Maidan was an attack on the administration and the law and order machinery.

Chavan calls Mumbai violence an attack on administration promises action

Power Grid Corporation of India, a central transmission utility, was able to restore the Northern Grid operations by 4 pm on Monday. R N Nayak, chairman and managing director, explains to Sanjay Jog what could have gone wrong and how the restoration was done.

Sanjay Jog

Sanjay Jog

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