Rumours have been doing the rounds on social media that power grids may fail due to a sudden decrease in demand.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning asked people to turn off the lights for 9 minutes at 9 pm on this Sunday and burn a candle, flashlight or an earthen lamp. He gave a video message to the nation.
Following the message, rumours have been doing the rounds on social media that power grids may fail due to a sudden decrease in demand. Through this article, we will try to clear any doubts regarding that.
In India, the Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO), which is the national load despatch centre, operates the national electricity grid and takes care of the real-time management. Electricity reaches our home from the National Load Dispatch Center, Regional and State Load Dispatch Center.
Data from the Ministry of Power shows that the peak power demand for electricity is currently around 1,25,817 megawatts (MW) across the country (according to data from 2 April 2020).
Grid experts have said that when the lights would be turned off for nine minutes on April 5, this demand could come down from 90 thousand MW to 1 lakh MW. That is, the consumption will be 25 to 35 thousand MW less at that time.
These days, due to the lockdown, the peak hour demand across the country is 43 thousand MW less than the previous year. At the same time last year, it was about 1,68,500 MW.
In such a situation, people raised the question on social media that on April 5, grid operations may fail due to a sudden decrease in demand.
On this matter, officials of the Ministry of Power have clarified that the grid will not be affected in the 9-minute duration, nor will the power plants shut down. It is being spread by some that the grid will be closed, which is wrong.
Grid experts have also said that apart from the lights of the house, a lot of appliances in the house will remain operational in those 9 minutes anyway. The grids will adjust the demand of electricity on its own, in the same way they do when people turn off the light while sleeping at night. That low consumption demand is adjusted accordingly.
Even if there is a sudden load, that is, overconsumption or it suddenly decreases, it is rarely a matter of concern, that too when it is spontaneous. Often, we know how much load can happen, just like the 9-minute thing is also known here. In such a situation, the grid lines will be ready for the low load. This is the same load which is usually at 4 in the evening i.e. around 90 thousand MW. So what happens at 4 o'clock will be at 9 o'clock at night on April 5, that means the power plants or grids will not fail. Hence the rumours should not be ignored.
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