The Hindu Business Line : Newly synchronised grid operations heading for trouble

Rising issues
Overdrawals by the Northern Grid constituents, with minimum frequency dipping below safe limits
Concerns among constituents of the other regions that the system could trip as the winter sets in the North

New Delhi , Dec. 9

Barely three months into the synchronisation of the Northern Grid with the East, North-East and Western Grids — touted as the largest synchronously connected grid system in the world — the move could be in jeopardy on account of rampant indiscipline by Northern region constituents.

The Western region members have threatened to pull out of the arrangement following persistent low system frequency in grid operations due to over-drawals by the Northern Grid constituents, with minimum frequency dipping below safe limits on several occasions in October and November.

`Violation index'

Western Grid members have voiced their concerns at a recent meeting of grid operators, official sources said. In light of the concerns, the newly synchronised grid — with a total generation capacity of 88,000 MW from nearly 250 power plants — could have a new safety measure in place. The Northern Grid operators are now compiling a `violation index' to pinpoint offenders, officials said.

Besides the discipline issue, there have been several instances of lack of maintenance of grid infrastructure in the Northern region leading to concerns among constituents of the other regions that the new interconnected grid system could trip as the winter sets in the North.

The 400-kV Unnao-Agra line, for instance, has tripped 14 times and the 400-kV Agra-Muradnagar line has tripped 21 times during September-October, setting off alarm bells among members of the other three regions, the sources said.

The synchronisation of the Northern Grid with the other three regions from August 28, aimed at facilitating free flow of power from surplus to deficit regions, followed the commissioning of the transmission system associated with the Tala hydel project in Bhutan and the East-North Interconnector systems.

With five distinct grid systems operating in the country prior to the synchronisation exercise, flouting of grid frequency norms by individual States threatened only a particular regional grid. But following the synchronisation, lack of discipline among the Northern Grid constituents could plunge all the four grids into a blackout.