Govt rules out grid instability due to PM’s blackout appeal

April 4, 2020
New Delhi: The Ministry of Power, here on Friday, clarified that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal was to switch off the lights in homes for 9 minutes on April 5, and not the street lights or other electrical appliances.

The clarification came after the power breakdown issue was raised by some. The Prime Minister’s call triggered the apprehensions of a larger grid failure due to sudden slump in the power demand and resultant high destabilising voltage surge.

“The appeal of the Prime Minister is to switch off lights in their homes from 9 p.m. to 9.09 p.m. on April 5. There is no call to switch off street lights or appliances, like computers, televisions, fans, refrigerators and air conditioners in the homes. Only lights should be switched off,” the Power Ministry said in a statement.

“Some apprehensions have been expressed that it may cause instability in the grid and voltage fluctuation, which may harm electrical appliances. These apprehensions are misplaced,” it said.

The Prime Minister on Friday appealed for a 9-minute blackout on Sunday, urging citizens to light a lamp, candle or shine a mobile flashlight to dispel the darkness spread by coronavirus.

Soon after the appeal, the Power Ministry had a meeting with PowerGrid Corporation, the central transmission utility, to accomplish the event without destabilising the grid. The appeal had triggered the talk that the 9-minute blackout could cause surge in voltage and might damage domestic appliances.

It has been clarified that lights at hospitals, public utilities, municipal services, offices, police stations and manufacturing facilities will remain on. All local bodies have been advised to keep the street lights on for public safety.

“Adequate arrangements and protocol are in place to handle the power demand variation,” said a Power Ministry official.

Despite the assurance on the grid stability during the blackout, everyone is keeping their fingers crossed over the impact of shutdown. It’s estimated that demand for 23,0000 MW power may fall within minutes, and the same may come back to system in a jiffy.

On its part, all central and state utilities, including load despatch centres are ready to handle any eventuality. Most technical staff of the power departments and utilities would be on job.

Moreover, few states have also staggered the load shedding plan to prevent wild grid fluctuation.