Power Ministry Asks States To Develop Grid Islanding Mechanisms To Prevent Grid Collapse In Major Cities

The Union Power Ministry has recommended every state prepare a mechanism for power system islanding for major cities to avoid a situation like the grid collapse in Mumbai in October 2020.

Such a procedure will allow the states to isolate certain parts of their power system for an uninterrupted electricity supply for the essential services.

The official order from the ministry even prompts the states to inspect the necessity of establishing such large storage systems or exclusive power plants to manage scenarios such as the aforementioned emergencies.

The Cabinet Secretariat has directed the Union Power Ministry to draw out an appropriate plan for crisis management in the wake of the power outage issue in Mumbai last year.

Hence, they have come up with the proposal of an issuing mechanism that can very well cover the essential and strategic load of every location. Furthermore, the utilization of the existing generating stations, including the stressed assets, has been underlined as an essential factor in this mechanism.

“The power ministry has directed designing islanding schemes for all major cities and also asked them to submit proposals if there is a need for installation of power plants or storage systems in or around the cities,” an official in the know of the developments was quoted in a report by The Economic Times.