India witnessed a plunge in the demand of power last night when people illuminate diyas and candles, and shut the lights off after Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised them to do so.

This has been confirmed by the power ministry.

R.K Singh, Minister of State Power and New & Renewable Energy, posted on Twitter: “Demand in the grid came down by 32000 MW within a few minutes but the frequency and voltage were maintained within the normal range. The drop in national demand by 32000 megawatts shows a huge response of the nation to the call of the Prime Minister.”

He further stated that his family also participated in the drive on Sunday. He tweeted: “While I was away with my officers monitoring the grid at the National Power Monitoring Centre during #9pm9minutes my family members were all together lighting diyas of hope and positivity for all of us.”

According to Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) also, the total reduction in all-India demand recorded during the event was 31089 MW.

The sharp reduction in load and subsequent recovery was handled through hydro and gas resources. The Load Dispatch Centres had anticipated reduction in demand of 12,000-14,000 MW.

All India demand started reducing from 20:45 as a result of people switching off lights and a demand of 85,799 MW was recorded at 21:10 hours. Subsequently, from 21:10 onwards, the demand started picking up and settled around 114,400 MW at 22:10 hours, POSOCO said.

PM Modi, on Friday, addressed the nation and urged citizens to light lamps and candles at 9 pm for nine minutes in order to stand in solidarity against the novel coronavirus that is spreading across the nation.

However, people also burned crackers, played devotional songs, and take out a rally bearing a torch to extend support to the Prime Minister.

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