Title - 60 pc power restored in North India: Sushil Kumar Shinde

New Delhi: Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Monday, explaining the power outage in North India, said that 60 per cent of the Northern Grid was working now. He also said that power supply to essential services including the railway and hospitals was restored by 8 am. He also pointed out that such a power failure had happened after a decade. "This type of a grid failure has happened after over 10 years. When such a power failure happened in 2001, power could be restored only by 4 pm on the next day. However, things have moved faster this time," Shinde said. Explaining the reasons for the grid failure, Shinde said, "The power grid failure happened as it was beyond its limit. There could be other reasons. A three-member committee under the Chairman of the Central Electricity Authority has been appointed to inquire into the reason for the grid failure." Central Electricity Authority Chairperson AS Bakshi, Power Grid Corporation Chairman and Managing Director AM Naik and Power System Operation Corporation Chief Executive Officer SK Soonee will make up the panel. The normal frequency at which electricity is transmitted through the Northern Grid ranges from 48.5 to 50.2 Hz. At the time of the collapse around 2.35 am, the grid frequency was 50.46 Hz, a few notches above normal. This could have tripped the supply, Shinde said. Defending India's power situation, Shinde said, "In 2008, there was a major power failure in the US and their federal energy regulatroy commision had called the Indian power grid chairman to seek assistance. It took four days for them to restore power. I am saying this to reinstate that our power corportaion is so strong." Northern India faced its worst power failure in 11 years on Monday with seven states getting affected. The power situation improved partially on Monday morning. Power was restored in parts of Punjab, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Power has been restored in Lucknow and other big cities in Uttar Pradesh. Thirty to forty per cent power was restored in Jammu and Kashmir. Power supply was being given in rotation in the Kashmir valley. The Metro service in Delhi was also hit. However, the Metro train services were fully restored around 10:45 am. The DMRC was getting hydel power from Bhutan through the grid on a priority basis. The Prime Minister's Office and AIIMS Hospital also got power supply on priority basis. Forty Northern Railway trains were also running late, but railway services have resumed across the seven north affected states. The Railway was sourcing power from three power stations. Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan were the states affected.