Power cos set for Modi’s lights off

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to the people to switch off all lights at their homes for nine minutes, beginning 9 pm on Sunday set officials of all electricity utilities scurrying to ensure that the anticipated sudden fall in demand for power at around 9 pm, and the consequent sudden surge a little later, does not damage the power grids - at the local, state, regional and national levels.

The Power System Operation Corporation Limited (PSOCL), which oversees the functional of all regional, state and local Load Dispatch Centres (LDCs), has issued a 13-page note to all the power utilities on the do’s and don’ts to ensure electricity supply and grid stability.

Country-wide the demand for power is expected to fall by 12,879 mega Watts (MW), while for Telangana state, PSOCL estimated that the total reduction in demand would be 272 MW at the consumer level and 352 MW at the grid level for the nightminute lights off exercise.

Telangana state, according to PSOCL, has

61,57,086 rural, and

4,42,654 urban households, who each on an average consume 308 MW and 44 MW of power each day.

Though the power sector officials have been at pains all day to assure consumers that nothing will happen to the supply post the lights off period, PSOCL on its part, issued a minute-byminute set of instructions to keep electricity humming along the wires across the country in the run up to 9 pm, and post 9.09 pm.

It told states to cut down on hydel generation from 6.10 pm to 8 pm while thermal and gas generating stations have been instructed that their output be “scheduled in a manner so as to manage the peak.” After the peak hours, generation at all thermal interstate generating stations would be gradually reduced to near technical minimum level of 60 per cent by 8.55 pm while hydel generation is to be stepped up simultaneously to maintain the load generation balance.

A mere two minutes later, starting at 8.57 pm, PSOCL said, hydel and gas generation must be ramped down keeping a watch on the system frequency.

Hydel units will be ‘rolling’at this time between zero and 10 per cent of their rating while gas powered generating stations are to be kept at the minimum production level.

Seven minutes later, at 9.05 pm, thermal stations must be ramped up and from 9.09 pm, hydel stations too should step up production to meet the increase in demand for electricity with people switching lights back on in their homes.