Mumbai: Eight days after the power outage in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the Maharashtra government has set up a six-member committee to inquire what led to grid collapse and the power failure.
Energy Minister Dr Nitin Raut told Free Press Journal, ‘’The three members will be from technical background from IIT, VJTI and Vivekanand National Institute of Technology, Nagpur while the remaining three will be from the state power sector. The government will issue a notification on Wednesday. The committee is expected to submit its report within a week.’’
The energy department official said the committee will also probe whether there was sabotage or cyber attack responsible for grid collapse and the subsequent power outage on October 12. The committee will also inquire why the Mumbai islanding failed and why the MahaTransco’s contingency did not work.
The Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) and Western Regional Load Dispatch Centre (WRLDC) in the report said following the grid disturbance, the total generation loss on Monday was around 1,060 mw comprising 840 mw of Tata Power generation and 220 mw at Uran gas station of the MahaGenco. Further, the total load loss was 2,600 mw comprising Mumbai’s load loss of 2,200 mw and Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, Bhiwandi and Thane together of 400 mw. MERC's timing is crucial especially when the blame game has begun among power utilities over Monday's breakdown.
Further, the state load dispatch centre in its analysis said the load generation imbalance persisted in Tata Power network (demand 1033mw, generation 864 mw). With this there was a large dip in frequency in the isolated Tata Power network, thus the Trombay units 5 and 7 tripped on under frequency resulting in the total blackout in Tata Power and BrihanMumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) network.
Meanwhile, Dr Raut at the meeting with the officers of the energy department and its undertakings warned that similar power failure will not be tolerated in future as he will recommend a stern action against the concerned staff. He suggested that a new design for Mumbai islanding system can be prepared using digital technology so that the city's power supply cannot be tripped.
