Four days after Mumbai power failure and the state government suspecting a sabotage and cyber attack, Tata Power on Friday said the blackout was attributed to cascade tripping at MahaTransco substations and transmission lines of state run Transmission Company leading to grid failure at Mumbai that resulted in power outages. Tata Power thereby has clarified that it was not responsible for Monday’s power outbreak.
The company however, admitted that the islanding system that saves the city from major power outages was successfully separated at 9.58 am but it could not hold sudden 1000mw load drop at 10.15 am. However, the company in a statement issued on October 16, was silent to explain why the much talked about islanding system failed. Besides, the company did not share the technical limitations which caused the failure islanding system.
Tata Power however, simply passed the buck on MahaTransco saying that the inconvenience caused to the Mumbai consumers was due to the latter’s transmission system failure which led to cascading impact on all the downstream suppliers of electricity including Tata Power and BEST.
‘’Tata Power rapidly initiated restoration by bringing in power from its hydro units and activating its Trombay gas and coal units as soon as the MahaTrasnco transmission lines were connected. Simultaneously, Tata Power started restoration supply to its consumers progressively from 12 noon
The company further said it is supporting a central team comprising officials from the Central Electricity Authority which is investigating the power breakdown in the city.
On the other hand, MahaTransco CMD Dinesh Waghmare, said the government will set up a committee to inquire why there was a delay in repair and maintenance of Talegaon Kalwa transmission line and why there was tripping. Further, the committee will probe tripping of Padgha-Talegaon transmission line and laxity in restoration. The committee will also look into lapses, if any, at the state load dispatch centre situated at Kalwa in monitoring and planning.
He said the committee will inquire about the failure of the islanding system. According to him, the action will be taken against the concerned employees in the wake of manual error.