PM's appeal to switch off lights: WB power dept keeps backup supply ready

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the people to switch off the lights for nine minutes on April 5, the West Bengal power department has decided to keep a backup supply system ready, following apprehensions of grid failure due to fluctuations in consumption. Modi on Friday urged people to switch off the lights at their homes and light up lamps, candles or mobile phone torches for nine minutes at 9 pm on April 5 to display the country's "collective resolve" to defeat coronavirus.

"I had a word with my officials and engineers. Our department is working to keep a backup power supply chain ready in case of any failure, following the programme tomorrow night," West Bengal Power Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay told PTI. Although the power system is connected to the national grid and there can be a failure due to discrepancies in power consumption at the same time. But the department has a backup system, which will be put in place so that there is no problem, he said.

Due to the lockdown, most of the industries, mills and business houses are closed and the electricity demand is down, an official said. "We have an adequate electricity supply, which will be useful as backup capacity in case of a major grid shutdown," the official added.

Managing 10-12 per cent load disruption will not be "a complex affair for modern grids", another official said. Referring to the incident of sudden grid failure in 2012, the official said, "It was an unknown problem. But in this case, we had 48 hours to predict. We have fully automated unified load despatch and control system. With advanced planning, managing such situation is not a very complex job." The load volatility for 9 minutes would be around 10 per cent of total nationwide demand of 110-120GW, the official said, adding that the Eastern Region Load Dispatch Centre may face a drop in demand of around 1,300 MW.

"West Bengal demand slump on account of this could be in the range of 400-450MW. With Purulia Pump storage hydel power station, Bengal power consumers are not expected to face any major blackout," the official said. Power System Operation Corp. Ltd (Posoco) that oversees country's electricity load management functions, in an advisory, said that total domestic lighting load reduction at all-India level is anticipated to the tune of 12-13 GW.

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