2012 India blackouts

2012 India blackouts

July 2012 India blackout

Indian states
affected 2 days by the power outages (on 30 and 31 July)
affected 1 day by the power outages (on 31 July)
Date

02:48, 30 July 2012

(+05:30)20:30, 31July2012 (+05:30)

Location

Northern India

The July 2012 India blackout was the largest power outage in history, occurring as two separate events on 30 and
31 July 2012. The outage affected over 620 million people, about 9% of the world population,[1][2][3] or half of
India's population, spread across 22 states[4] in Northern, Eastern, and Northeast India. An estimated 32 gigawatts of
generating capacity was taken offline in the outage.[5] An article in The Wall Street Journal stated that of the affected
population, 320 million initially had power, while the rest of the affected population lacked direct access.[6]
Electrical power was restored in the affected locations between 31 July and 1 August 2012.[7][8]

Background
The Indian electrical infrastructure was generally considered unreliable.[9][10] The northern grid had previously
collapsed in 2001.[5] An estimated 27% of power generated was lost in transmission or stolen,[11] while peak supply
fell short of demand by an average of 9%.[11] The nation suffered from frequent power outages that could last as long
as 10 hours.[11] Further, about 25% of the population, about 300 million people, had no electricity at all.[11]
Projections suggested India remained decades away from having a sufficient energy supply.[11]
In the summer of 2012, leading up to the failure, extreme heat had caused power use to reach record levels in New
Delhi. Due to the late arrival of monsoons, agricultural areas in Punjab and Haryana drew increased power from the
grid for running irrigation pumps to paddy fields.[12] The late monsoon also meant that hydropower plants were
generating less than their usual production.[13]

2012 India blackouts

Sequence of events
30 July
At 02:35 IST (21:05 UTC on 29 July), the 400 kV Bina-Gwalior line tripped. As this line fed into the Agra-Bareilly
transmission section, the station also tripped, and power failures cascaded through the grid. All major power stations
were shut down in the affected states, causing an estimated shortage of 32 GW.[5] Officials described the failure as
"the worst in a decade".[14]
On the day of the collapse, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde stated that the exact cause of the failure was
unknown, but that at the time of the failure, electricity use was "above normal". He speculated that some states had
attempted to draw more power than permitted due to the higher consumption. Spokesperson for Power Grid
Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) and the Northern Regional Load Dispatch Centre (NRLDC) stated that Uttar
Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana were the states responsible for the overdraw. PGCIL's chairman also stated that
electrical service was restored "at a record time".[5]
A senior director for an Indian power company described the outage as "a fairly large breakdown that exposed major
technical faults in Indias grid system. Something went terribly wrong which caused the backup safety systems to
fail."[15]
More than 300 million people, about 25% of India's population, were without power. Railways and some airports
were shut down until 08:00.[16] The busiest airport in North India, Delhi Airport, was able to remain open, because it
switched to back-up power in 15 seconds.[15][17] The outage caused "chaos" for Monday morning rush hour, as
passenger trains were shut down and traffic signals were non-operational.[5] Trains stalled for three to five hours.[16]
Several hospitals reported interruptions in health services,[5] while others relied on back-up generators.[14] Water
treatment plants were shut down for several hours,[16] and millions were unable to draw water from wells powered
by electric pumps.[12]
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India stated that the blackout had "severely impacted"
businesses, leaving many unable to operate.[18] Oil refineries in Panipat, Mathura and Bhatinda continued operating
because they have their own captive power stations within the refineries and do not depend on the grid.[5]
It took 15 hours to restore 80% of service.[15]

31 July
The system failed again at 13:02 IST (07:32 UTC), due to a relay problem near the Taj Mahal.[19] As a result, power
stations across the affected parts of India again went offline. NTPC Ltd. stopped 38% of its generation capacity.[20]
Over 600 million people (nearly half of India's population), in 22 out of 28 states in India, were without power.[4]
More than 300 intercity passenger trains and commuter lines were shut down as a result of the power outage.[21][22]
The worst affected zones in the wake of the power grid's collapse were Northern, North Central, East Central, and
East Coast railway zones, with parts of Eastern, South Eastern and West Central railway zones. The Delhi Metro
suspended service on all six lines, and had to evacuate passengers from trains that stopped mid-journey, helped by
the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.[20]
About 200 miners were trapped underground in eastern India due to lifts failing, but officials later said they had all
been rescued.[23]
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), not normally mandated to investigate blackouts, began to
do so because of the threat to basic infrastructure facilities like railways, metro rail system, lifts in multi-storey
buildings, and movement of vehicular traffic.[24][25]
The following states were affected by the grid failure:[26]
states on the northern grid: Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh, Uttarakhand

2012 India blackouts

states on the eastern grid: Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal
states on the northeast grid: Arunanchal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim
However, the following regions not affected at all:[27]

Narora and Simbhaoli in Uttar Pradesh

parts of Delhi such as Badarpur
areas served by Sterlite and Ib Thermal Power Station (most of western Orissa)
most of the Kolkata municipal area (CESC system)

1 August
According to the officials of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, the 400 kV double circuit line between
Gwalior and Agra faced "dangerous overloading" on the evening of August 1 and could have triggered another
power outage. The tripping was prevented when the powerpersons realised that the line load had reached 800 MW
and scaled it down to 600 MW by cutting off the electricity to many parts that were fed by this line.
As of 2 August, Uttar Pradesh was being supplied about 7 GW power, while the demand was between 9 and 9.7
GW.[28]

Prior disaster-proofing
Before the grid collapse, the private sector spent $29 billion to build their own independent power stations in order to
provide reliable power to their factories. The 5 biggest consumers of electricity in India have private off-grid
supplies. Indian companies have 35 GW of private off-grid generation capacity and plan to add another 33 GW to
their off-grid capacity.[17]
Some villages that were not connected to the grid were not affected, such as Meerwada, Madhya Pradesh which has
a 14kW solar power station built by US-based firm for $125,000.[29]

Reactions
On the day of the collapse, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde ordered a three-member panel to determine the
reason for the failure and report on it in fifteen days.[30] In response to criticism, he observed that India was not alone
in suffering major power outages, as blackouts had also occurred in the United States and Brazil within the previous
few years.[13]
The Washington Post described the failure as adding urgency to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's plan for a
US$400 billion overhaul of India's power grid. His plan calls for a further 76 gigawatts of generation by 2017,[15]
produced in part by nuclear power.
Rajiv Kumar, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said, "One
of the major reasons for the collapse of the power grid is the major gap between demand and supply. There is an
urgent need to reform the power sector and bring about infrastructural improvements to meet the new challenges of
the growing economy."[31]
On 1 August 2012, newly appointed Power Minister Moodbidri Veerappa Moily stated, "First thing is to stabilize the
grid and it has to sustain. For that we will work out a proper strategy." He declined to blame specific states, saying,
"I don't want to start with the blame game."[32]
Team Anna, the supporters of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, charged that this grid failure was a conspiracy to
suppress the indefinite fast movement started on 25 July 2012 for the Jan Lokpal Bill and targeting Sharad
Pawar.[33][34]
Some technology sources and USAID proposed that another widespread outage could be prevented by integrated
network of microgrids and distributed generation connected seamlessly with the main grid via a superior smart grid

2012 India blackouts

technology which includes automated fault detection, islanding and self-healing of the network.[35][36][36][36]

Investigation
The three-member investigation committee consisted of S. C. Srivastava, A. Velayutham and A. S. Bakshi, and
issued its report on 16 August 2012. It concluded that four factors were responsible for the two days of blackout:[37]
Weak inter-regional power transmission corridors due to multiple existing outages (both scheduled and forced)
High Loading on 400 kV Bina-Gwalior-Agra link.
Inadequate response by State Load Despatch Centers (SLDCs) to the instructions of Regional Load Despatch
Centres (RLDCs) to reduce overdrawal by the Northern Region utilities and underdrawal/excess generation by the
Western Region utilities.
Loss of 400 kV Bina-Gwalior link due to mis-operation of its protection system.
The committee also offered a number of recommendations to prevent further failures, including an audit of the
protection systems.[37]

References
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[2] Hriday Sarma and Ruby Russell (31 July 2012). "620 million without power in India after 3 power grids fail" (http:/ / www. usatoday. com/
news/ world/ story/ 2012-07-31/ india-power-outage/ 56600520/ 1). USA Today. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[3] "India's Mass Power Failure Worst Ever in World History" (http:/ / news. outlookindia. com/ items. aspx?artid=770631). Outlook. Press Trust
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html). Deccan Herald. 31 July 2012. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[5] Sujay Mehuddia and Smriti Rak Ramachandaran (30 July 2012). "Worst outage cripples north India" (http:/ / www. thehindu. com/ news/
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[6] Tripti Lahiri (1 August 2012). "How Many People Actually Lost Power?" (http:/ / blogs. wsj. com/ indiarealtime/ 2012/ 08/ 01/
how-many-people-actually-lost-power-in-india/ ). The Wall Street Journal. . Retrieved 5 August 2012.
[7] "Power grids fail: Power restoration complete in Delhi & northeast, 50% in eastern region" (http:/ / economictimes. indiatimes. com/ news/
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15293178. cms). The Economic Times. 31 July 2012. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[8] Gardiner Harris and Vikas Bajaj (1 August 2012). "As Power Is Restored in India, the 'Blame Game' Over Blackouts Heats Up" (https:/ /
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electricity-grids-fail-half-india-16899933). Associated Press. ABC News. 1 August 2012. . Retrieved 3 August 2012.
[11] Rajesh Kumar Singh and Rakteem Katakey (1 August 2012). "Worst India Outage Highlights 60 Years Of Missed Targets" (http:/ / www.
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[13] "Power grid failure makes 370M swelter in dark as India struggles to meet its vast energy needs" (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/
business/ power-grid-failure-makes-370m-swelter-in-dark-as-india-struggles-to-meet-its-vast-energy-needs/ 2012/ 07/ 30/
gJQAY4afKX_story. html). The Washington Post. Associated Press. 30 July 2012. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[14] Sruthi Gottipatti and Niharika Mandhana (30 July 2012). "Power Restored to Most of north India" (http:/ / india. blogs. nytimes. com/ 2012/
07/ 30/ power-restored-to-most-of-north-india/ ). The New York Times. . Retrieved 30 July 2012.
[15] Kartikay Mehrotra and Andrew MacAskill (31 July 2012). "Singh's $400 Billion Power Plan Gains Urgency as Grid Collapses" (http:/ /
washpost. bloomberg. com/ Story?docId=1376-M7YDKA0YHQ0X01-79TK1GQCDQF2C5AQ5A383U7GQR). The Washington Post. .
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[16] "Power cut causes major disruption in northern India" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ news/ world-asia-india-19043972). BBC News. 30 July
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2012 India blackouts

[17] Rajesh Kumar Singh and Rakteem Katakey (3 August 2012). "Ambani, Tata 'Islands' Shrug Off Grid Collapse: Corporate India" (http:/ /
www. bloomberg. com/ news/ 2012-08-02/ ambani-tata-islands-shrug-off-grid-collapse-corporate-india. html). Bloomberg. . Retrieved 6
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Power-failure-in-7-states-no-Metro-Trains-in-Delhi-today/ Article1-904035. aspx). Hindustan Times. 31 July 2012. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[19] Gardiner Harris and Heather Timmons (31 July 2012). "Half of India Crippled by Second Day of Power Failures" (http:/ / www. nytimes.
com/ 2012/ 08/ 01/ world/ asia/ power-outages-hit-600-million-in-india. html?_r=2). The New York Times. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[20] Kartikay Mehrotra and Rakteem Katakey (31 July 2012). "India Blacks Out From New Delhi to Kolkata as Grid Fails Again" (http:/ / www.
bloomberg. com/ news/ 2012-07-31/ india-power-grid-collapses-for-second-time-in-two-days. html). Bloomberg. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[21] Saurabh Chaturvedi and Santanu Choudhury (31 July 2012). "India's Power Grid Collapses Again" (http:/ / online. wsj. com/ article/
SB10000872396390444405804577560413178678898. html). The Wall Street Journal. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[22] "Multiple grid collapses hit train services again" (http:/ / www. firstpost. com/ india/
multiple-grid-collapses-hit-train-services-again-398952. html). First Post. Press Trust of India. 31 July 2012. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
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[24] Vishwa Moham (31 July 2012). "Blackout expands NDMA's scope" (http:/ / timesofindia. indiatimes. com/ india/
Blackout-expands-NDMAs-scope/ articleshow/ 15285886. cms). The Times of India. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
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live-power-supply-partially-restored-moily-refuses-to-blame-states-398254. html). First Post. 31 July 2012. . Retrieved 1 August 2012.
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india-blackout-20-states-60-cr-people-affected/ 276887-3. html). IBN. 31 July 2012. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[27] "Preliminary report on grid disturbance in NEW grid on 31st July 2012" (http:/ / www. nldc. in/ Flasher/ Flash Report_NLDC_Grid
Disturbance in Northern Region_31072012. pdf). National Load Dispatch Centre. 31 July 2012. . Retrieved 1 August 2012.
[28] "Northern power grid was again on verge of tripping" (http:/ / www. hindustantimes. com/ India-news/ Lucknow/
Northern-power-grid-was-again-on-verge-of-tripping/ Article1-908042. aspx). Hindustan Times. Indo-Asian News Service. 4 August 2012. .
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[29] "Madhya Pradesh: As power grids collapse, solar village shines" (http:/ / ibnlive. in. com/ news/ as-power-grid-collapse-solar-village-shines/
277841-3. html). Reuters. IBN. 3 August 2012. . Retrieved 6 August 2012.
[30] "Greedy states send power grid crashing" (http:/ / www. hindustantimes. com/ India-news/ NewDelhi/
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[31] Simon Denyer and Rama Lakshmi (31 July 2012). "India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power" (http:/ / www.
washingtonpost. com/ world/ india-blackout-on-second-day-leaves-600-million-without-power/ 2012/ 07/ 30/ gJQA7j1LMX_story.
html?hpid=z1). The Washington Post. . Retrieved 31 July 2012.
[32] "Don't want to start with blame game: Veerappa Moily" (http:/ / ibnlive. in. com/ news/ dont-want-to-start-with-blame-game-moily/
277050-37-64. html). IBN. 1 August 2012. . Retrieved 30 July 2012.
[33] "Team Anna calls grid failure a conspiracy, targets Pawar" (http:/ / ibnlive. in. com/ news/
team-anna-calls-grid-failure-a-conspiracy-targets-pawar/ 276445-37-64. html). IBN. 30 July 2012. . Retrieved 2 August 2012.
[34] "Team Anna sees conspiracy in northern power grid collapse" (http:/ / articles. economictimes. indiatimes. com/ 2012-07-30/ news/
32942082_1_northern-grid-anna-hazare-metro-services). The Economic Times. Press Trust of India. 30 July 2012. . Retrieved 2 August 2012.
[35] "Power crisis and grid collapse: Is it time to think different, small and local?" (http:/ / www. moneycontrol. com/ smementor/ mentorade/
starting-up/ power-crisisgrid-collapse-is-it-time-to-think--739976. html). SME Mentor. 3 August 2012. . Retrieved 6 August 2012.
[36] "How Power Outages in India May One Day Be Avoided" (http:/ / www. technologyreview. com/ news/ 428666/
how-power-outages-in-india-may-one-day-be-avoided/ ). technologyreview.com. 31 July 2012. . Retrieved 9 August 2012.
[37] "Report of the Enquiry Committee on Grid Distubance in Northern Region on 30th July 2012 and in Nothern, Eastern & North-Eastern
Region on 31st July 2012" (http:/ / www. powermin. nic. in/ pdf/ GRID_ENQ_REP_16_8_12. pdf). http:/ / www. powermin. nic. in. & #32;16
August 2012. . Retrieved 28 August 2012.

External links
Official report of the enquiry committee (http://www.powermin.nic.in/pdf/GRID_ENQ_REP_16_8_12.pdf)

Article Sources and Contributors

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