Grid collapse: Between June and mid-July,UP was warned 402 times

CM Akhilesh Yadav denies his state is responsible for collapse of power grids on 2 consecutive days.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has denied that his state is responsible for the collapse of the Northern and other grids on two consecutive days. However,the fact is that between June 1 and July 16,the Northern Regional Load Dispatch Centre issued as many as 402 caution messages to Uttar Pradesh for over-withdrawal on occasions when frequency was below the safe limit of 49.5 hz.

This is the maximum number of caution messages issued to any of the nine states which are part of the Northern grid. Haryana was issued 265 cautions,Punjab 227,Uttarakhand 154,J&K 119,Rajasthan 70,Himachal Pradesh 20,and Delhi five. Only Chandigarh did not make any overdrawal.

Overdrawals by these states continued even after the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission on a petition from NRLDC,ordered them on July 10 not to undertake any overdrawal from the grid when the frequency is below 49.5 hz. Even after this,UP was the biggest culprit. Between July 10 and July 16,it was cautioned 31 times,Uttarakhand 19 times,Haryana 17 times,Rajasthan and Punjab 15 times each,Delhi thrice,J&K twice and Himachal once.

On July 30,CERC ordered personal appearance of heads of transmission corporations of UP,Haryana,Punjab,Uttarakhand and J&K on August 14. The same night,the Northern grid collapsed. The next day,the Northern,Eastern and North-eastern grids collapsed,plunging half of India into darkness.

Sources in UP power department said the states endemic dependence on overdrawals is the result of gross mismanagement. Generation is inadequate,but the government has announced enhanced power supply during Ramzan and exemption from power cut to VIP districts.