Power failure in 7 states, Million suffer

NEW DELHI: Power supply across nine states of north India including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh has been hit as the northern power transmission grid failed in early hours of Monday.

Industries across the states are likely to be affected though Power Grid Corp of India Ltd (PGCIL), that owns and operates the grid, has begun restoration process. Services of Indian railways and Delhi Metro Rail Corp were among the worst affected after the grid failure at around 2.35 a.m.

The company, a subsidiary of the state-run Power Grid Corp of India, which manages the grid, sought to restore power by supplies from the eastern and the western regions, even as power to the railways and Delhi Metro was restored by 9 a.m.

According to the company, parts of Badarpur in south Delhi, Narora and Simbhauli in Uttar Pradesh and Bhinma in Rajasthan were not hit by the tripping.

By afternoon, a semblance of normalcy was restored with most areas in north India getting electricity supply.

Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters in New Delhi earlier that efforts were on to restore power supply on “a war footing”. He denied that essential services were hit.

A three-member panel has been set up to look at the cause for the power failure.

With water treatment plants hit by the power failure, it was a double whammy for millions who had to contend with no power and no water as well.

The impact was felt in the critical healthcare sector. All government hospitals, in the national capital, for instance, were put on emergency services and generator back-up.

According to railway officials, about 1.5 lakh passengers in around 300 trains suffered delays as the grid failure cripple operations across eights divisions of the Northern Railway.

Besides, about 200 goods trains had to be cancelled, resulting in an estimated loss of over Rs.100 crore, because passenger trains were given priority.

Many important trains like the Lucknow-Delhi Mail and overnight trains plying between New Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad and Varanasi and Moradabad were stranded en-route, while some were brought to the nearest stations by diesel engines, a railway official said.

PGCIL chairman RN Nayak told that the process of restoration of grid has been taken up so that normalcy is reached.

“The company is bringing power from the eastern and western regions for immediate relief to the northern states. Power supply to railway and Delhi Metro has been partially restored and we expect some relief in the next two hours before the offices open,” Nayak said.

The power ministry said essential services like public transportation are being given priority in power supply restoration. Power supply to Indian Railways has resumed and trains are plying about 4-5 hours late on several routes.