Large blackouts like the one that hit Mumbai and neighboring areas on Monday morning (October 12) can be dangerous events for those affected. In addition to hampering homes and people trying to use public transport, vital hospital systems, student exams and hearings have been affected in Mumbai after a power outage.
What happened?
- As of Monday morning, around 50 billion homes and operating businesses in Mumbai suffered power outages.
- In the midst of rush hour, Mumbai commuter train services were disrupted for more than two hours, forcing commuters, mostly essential commuters, to switch to other means of transportation or abandon their travel plans.
- The Bombay High Court hearings have been postponed. Domestic water supply to households at the ends of the water supply network has been affected. Traffic lights have run out of power in Mumbai.
- To ensure that Covid-19 and non-Covid healthcare facility operations, particularly intensive care unit operations, are not impacted, the Mumbai municipal commissioner has ordered that “all hospitals have a sufficient supply of diesel for at least eight hours ”.
- Officials at the Mumbai disaster control room were also asked to put private mobile diesel generators on hold.
- Power generators were used to conduct the common state entrance exams, which began Monday, with the first exam shift between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the middle of the blackout.
- Last year, ongoing online exams at various universities could not be completed due to the disruption.
- At Kishanchand Chelaramani (KC) College in South Mumbai, Principal Hemlata Bagla issued a notice that read: “All students are hereby informed that due to a massive blackout all undergraduate exams and postgraduate studies are postponed to Sunday, October 18. will remain the same. “
- Fortunately, airport services were not affected by the blackout.
“The airport has a backup plan that kicks in in seconds in the event of a power failure. As a result, operations at the airport are normal, ”
said an official statement issued by a spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Limited.
- The power supply was cut off around 10:15 a.m. At noon, supplies were restored to Navi Mumbai, Thane and parts of Mumbai including the Mumbai High Court.
Why was this unusual?
Power outages in the commercial capital and its satellite cities are rare compared to other parts of the state. In fact, the Western power grid serving these areas is designed to provide efficient power 24/7 to meet the needs of the Indian financial nerve. It has been several years since a major blackout has been observed in the city and outlying areas. That is why it is a rare event.
But what caused the blackout? Who to blame?
- According to Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut, the power outage was caused by a technical failure in one of the power supply circuits of the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited’s 400 KV power station in Kalwa-Padgha, near of Thane.
- The electrical load on the tripped circuit had increased as a result of ongoing repair and maintenance work on the station’s other power circuit. In a video message to electricity consumers, Raut said that work was underway to restore power to a war footing.
- Adani Electricity, which supplies electricity to the majority of households in the Mumbai suburbs, tweeted: “There is a major failure in the power grid as the supply is affected in most areas of Mumbai.
- In accordance with network security protocols, Adani Power System currently provides around 385 MW for critical services in Mumbai through the Dahanu Power Station.
- He added that “our teams are working to restore supplies to the affected areas as soon as possible. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.
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