The northern electricity grid suffered a load loss of 8,000 MW, including 3,500 MW in the national capital, during a fierce storm in the region yesterday and power supplies are gradually being restored.
Supplies were affected due to heavy rains, dust and thunderstorms and wind speeds exceeding 75 kmph in areas of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand yesterday evening.
"As a result, 68 transmission lines tripped. The load loss was at the rate of 200 MW per minute, resulting in a northern grid load loss of about 8,000 MW, including 3,500 MW in Delhi," the Ministry of Power said in a statement today.
Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Power (independent charge) today reviewed the situation arising out of the load interruption, according to the statement. The ministry also said restoration work has started.
"Out of 68 lines that tripped during the incident, 49 lines have been restored and supply has been restored gradually in all the states," it said.
In Delhi, top priority was accorded to restoring power to emergency services such as hospitals, Delhi Metro, water treatment plants and the New Delhi Municipal Council area, it said, adding that presently, about 3,800 MW load is being met.
Assistance was provided to Delhi through the Emergency Restoration System (ERS) for early restoration of affected lines, especially Mandola-Gopalpur, Bawana-Rohini and Bamnauli-Pappankalan, which are affecting power supply in the northern Delhi region.
The minister has promised all help to Delhi in early restoration of the lines and directed Power Grid Corporation of India, the central transmission utility, to extend all cooperation in this regard.
Goyal said that more ERS equipment should be maintained by all states and central utilities to reduce the outage time and suffering of the people.
