Power grid collapse becomes a worry as fog spreads tentacles

Power grid collapse becomes a worry as fog spreads tentacles
The threat of climatic factors triggering the collapse of power grids remains real, show the 21 cases of fog-induced outages in north India over a span of three nights. This is despite the fact that the risk of a grid failure due to over-drawl by power distribution companies (discoms) has receded after the blackout in July last year, which left more than half of the country without electricity for several hours. Tripping of power transmission lines happens when heavy fog mixes with unburnt carbon and other pollutants in the air and settles on the conventional porcelain disc insulators along the lines, shorting the conducting path and triggering a flash over.

According to experts, if the tripped lines were not repaired during the night itself, there was a risk that mounting load during morning would have put additional load on the remaining lines, which could have snapped under pressure, replaying the massive 12-hour-long blackout that happened eleven years ago in January 2002 in the northern region due to the failure of a sub-station in UP.The central electricity regulatory commission (CERC), Power Grid and system operator POSCO are mandated to manage grid stability.

Last year's blackout was triggered by grid collapse due to excessive drawing of electricity by northern states such as Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The northern grid collapsed first, triggering the failure of the eastern and north-eastern grids. With three of the five electricity grids down, more than 600 million of the country's population had to live without electricity for several hours on July 31. In comparison, the black-out a day before, on July 30, was limited to the northern region only.

After narrowing the grid frequency band in May, the CERC is expected to come out with new regulations soon to further tighten grid discipline. Specifically, the regulator plans to narrow the existing frequency band of 49.7-50.2 Hz to 49.9-50.1 Hz while increasing penal UI charges from Rs 9 a unit to more than Rs 11 a unit. When grid frequency is close to the lower or the upper band, overdrawl of electricity by power distribution companies could attract the maximum UI rate.

 Source:- The Financial Express