Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:-

(a) whether it is a fact that vast area of Delhi experienced blackout for about seven hours from six am to one pm and then till night, off and on, on the 6th, 8th and 11th February, 2008 for long hours;

(b) if so, the reasons therefor;

(c) the number of serious power breakdowns for two hours and more, that occurred in Delhi during 2007 and so far, this year;

(d) whether performance of the distribution companies has been evaluated in the light of these serious breakdowns; and

(e) if so, the outcome thereof and the action taken or proposed to be taken to improve the situation?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF POWER

(SHRI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE)

(a) to (e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House

STATEMENT

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 260 TO BE ANSWERED IN THE RAJYA SABHA ON 17.03.2008 REGARDING POWER-CUTS IN DELHI.

(a) : As reported by Govt. of Delhi, the following breakdowns occurred on 6th, 8th and 11th Feb. 2008 in Delhi:
On 6th February, 2008, interruptions started at 1.50 a.m. and normalcy was restored at 11.00 a.m. Twenty six (26) lines of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. in the Northern Grid tripped and six (6) lines of Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) also tripped due to foggy weather coupled with high pollution levels. Load to the tune of 270 – 800 MW was affected during the period of interruption.

On 8th February, 2008 no disruption in power supply from the Grid has been reported by the Government of Delhi.

On 11th February, 2008, interruptions of power supply was reported from West Delhi from 8.41 p.m. to 11.25 p.m. Approximately 200 MW of load was affected due to failure of a 400/220 kV Power Transformer (315 MVA) at Bamnauli, during above period.

(b) : Fog coupled with high pollution and paucity of winter rain experienced in Northern Region have been the main reasons behind tripping of transmission lines, resulting in interruption in power supply.

(c) : The number of days on which power breakdowns for two hours and more occurred in Delhi during 2007 and so far this year, as reported by the Delhi Transco Limited, are given below :  

 
 
Month                   Number of days in the month

       January, 2007                                     2 

       February, 2007                                   3 

      October,2007                                      1 

      December,2007                                 2

     January, 2008                                      2 

     February,2008                                      7 

     March,2008 (up to 12th)                     3 

(d) & (e) :This falls within the purview of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) under the Electricity Act, 2003.