Date:28/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112859830500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Flip side of Mumbai attacks: more power to State

Staff Reporter

400 MW excess load drawn from grid due to industry holiday in Mumbai

Shortage of 10 million units on Wednesday despite emergency purchases
Grid frequency on Thursday reaches 50 hertz, unheard of in recent times

HYDERABAD: In an instance of unintended consequences, the gory bloodbath in Mumbai resulted in a reprieve for the power distribution officials here.

The distribution company, which faced acute power crisis on Wednesday due to breakdown of half-a-dozen power plants in Tamil Nadu and Orissa, had a field day the very next day with surplus power. Reason, partially, was the industrial holiday declared at the economic capital of the country in the wake of the terror attacks and the resultant reduction in the load from Mumbai (neighbouring Maharashtra). “Though the exact relief on the power grid could not be estimated, we could draw about 300 MW to 400 MW of excess loads from the grid. Around 2 p.m. on Thursday, the grid frequency reached 50 hertz, a comfortable range unheard of in the recent times,” said an official.

The situation sharply contrasted with the present one on Wednesday, when there was a shortage of over 10 million units even after emergency purchases. The scarcity forced the company to impose day-long power cuts in rural areas apart from a four-hour cut in the city outskirts.