Title - Govt asks states to adopt defence plans for grid failure

NEW DELHI: The government has asked all the eastern and the north-eastern states that suffered total blackout last month due to the collapse of grids to adopt defence plans like their counterparts in the North.Power Minister Veerappa Moily has written to states including Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh to adopt resolutions designed to prevent the recurrence of such grid failures. Earlier this month eight northern states including Delhi resolved to take necessary defence mechanism and protection systems to ensure integrated operations of the national and regional transmission grids."We have written to all the eastern and north-eastern state to follow adequate defence plans and protection systems to ensure integrated operations of the national and regional grids in adherence with the Indian Electricity Grid Code," a Power Ministry official said.The ministry had already written to northern states. All the northern states agreed, in a meeting with the Power Ministry officials, to have independent third party audit of the protection systems for power grids within three months and the process would be monitored by regional power committees.The other proposals which were approved include improving power grid discipline which, in effect, would mean that states will not overdraw their quota of power from the grid. The defence plans of states, in case of grid failures, should include islanding schemes, special protection and automatic demand management schemes.

The tripping of grids on July 31 happened less than 24 hours after the Northern Grid failed. The crisis, which brought essential services like Railways, Metro and Airport to a grinding halt, affected half of the country's total 1.2 billion population.

India has five electricity grids -- Northern, Eastern, North Eastern, Southern and Western. All of them are inter- connected, except the Southern grid.