Major power crisis hits UP

Special Correspondent
It occurred due to snag in transmission line Generation plunged to as low as 400 MW

LUCKNOW: A major power crisis gripped Uttar Pradesh on Thursday following a snag in the Obra-Panki transmission line. The fault caused five machines (No. 1, 2, 10, 12 and 13) of the Obra Thermal Power Station in Sonebhadra district and the inter-connecting transformer (ICT) at the Anpara power station to trip. It occurred at around 10-30 a.m. and the crisis continued till late in the day.

As generation plunged to 400 MW, power went off in all the major towns and cities of U.P., including Kanpur, Varanasi, Aligarh, Moradabad, Meerut, Allahabad and Bareilly. According to officials at the U.P. Power Corporation Limited, there was an immediate shortfall of around 2,200 MW when the crisis occurred.

The fault in the Obra-Panki line occurred around 50 km from Obra and since it was not cleared by the Obra breaker, five machines of the Obra TPS tripped. At the Anpara end the fault was not cleared by the breaker. Consequently the ICT, the auxiliaries and the machine tripped sending the power supply in most parts of the State for a toss.

Barring Lucknow, which is assured of 24-hour uninterrupted supply, and Agra, on account of the Taj Prapezium Zone (TPZ) there, all the other major towns witnessed sudden disruption of power supply.

The fault was partially restored later in the day and the supply position showed signs of improvement. When contacted, UPPCL Chairman and Managing Director Navneet Sehgal said the Government immediately swung into action when the crisis occurred and 1,800 MW was taken from the Northern Grid to tide over the crisis.

Mr. Sehgal said normal supply position would be restored soon.

There was an over-drawal of 1,700 MW beyond U.P.’s quota from the Central sector and two hours’ rostering has been initiated in all major towns with the possible exception of Lucknow and Agra.