Excessive demand crashes electric grid in northern India- 370 million left without power in sweltering heat

July 30, 2012 – INDIA – A massive power cut has caused disruption across northern India, including in the capital, Delhi. It hit a swathe of the country affecting more than 300 million people in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan states. Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said most of the supply had been restored and the rest would be reinstated soon. It is unclear why the supply collapsed but reports say some states may have been using more power than authorized. Mr. Shinde said he had appointed a committee to inquire into the causes of the blackout, one of the worst to hit the country in more than a decade. The committee will submit its report within 15 days, he said. The power cut happened at 02:30 local time on Monday (2100 GMT Sunday) after India’s Northern Grid network collapsed. Mr. Shinde told the BBC that he had been informed about the problem at 05:30. “Within two hours we tried to restore the railways, airport and Delhi Metro services and power supply to essential services, including the railways and hospitals, was restored by 08:00.” The minister said the exact reason for the collapse had not yet been pinpointed but, in the summer, “states try to take more power from the grid” and at the time of the collapse, the grid frequency was “above normal.” That is one of the reasons why the grid failed,” he said. By early afternoon, 80% of the supply had been restored, Mr. Shinde said. –BBC

Grid crash in summer heat: Northern India’s power grid crashed Monday, halting hundreds of trains, forcing hospitals and airports to use backup generators and leaving 370 million people — more than the population of the United States and Canada combined — sweltering in the summer heat. The blackout, the worst to hit India in a decade, highlighted the nation’s inability to feed a growing hunger for energy as it strives to become a regional economic power. Some small businesses were forced to shut for the day. Buildings were without water because the pumps weren’t working. Muslim families were forced to eat their pre-dawn meals by candlelight before beginning their daytime Ramadan fast. “It was really difficult,” said farmer Mohammed Zaman. The northern grid crashed about 2:30 a.m. because it could no longer keep up with the huge demand for power in the hot summer, officials in the state of Uttar Pradesh said. However, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said he was not sure exactly what caused the collapse and had formed a committee to investigate it. The grid feeds the nation’s breadbasket in Punjab, the war-wracked region of Kashmir, the burgeoning capital of New Delhi, the Dalai Lama’s Himalayan headquarters in Dharmsala and the world’s most populous state, the poverty stricken Uttar Pradesh. –Business Week