Mumbai 2020 blackout due to inadequate islanding system, electricity generation: Report

The Energy Department has submitted a report to the cabinet regarding the power outage the city faced on October 12 last year and has cited several reasons that led to the blackout. It has also made recommendations, some of which are being followed to avoid recurrence of the event.

Citing reasons, the report says the inadequate islanding mechanism and insufficient electricity generation inside the city limits, lack of coordination between the companies, non-availability of high-tech emergency handling equipment at the load despatch centre and lack of an SOP had caused the outage.

The first recommendation is to have a revised SOP for the planned outages, maintenance and repairing activities.

The report also talks about increasing the carrying capacity of lines that bring power from outside to the city. Some such lines had tripped ahead of the
blackout.

Cyber attacks

Meanwhile, thrust has been given on securing the digital system from hacks.

A Maharashtra cyber department report had confirmed that a malware had hit the system and about 14 Trojan Horses and 8 GB of unaccounted data was found. Some people blamed it on Chinese hackers, a charge promptly denied by the neighbouring country.

The report says that a plan has been submitted to safeguard critical information infrastructure through cyber-crisis management. "The IT infrastructure has been audited and cyber-cleansing has been taken up as per the audit suggestions," the report states.