Despite the fact that the power outage in Mumbai was announced a week ago, the Maharashtra government has yet to form a committee to investigate the problem

There has been no activity on this front a week after energy minister Nitin Raut announced the formation of a High-Level Commission to investigate the February 27 Mumbai power outage. Insiders at the state energy department claim that no real discussion took place on the topic because it will be discussed with the Energy Secretary on Monday.

 

After the 18-hour power outage in Mumbai on October 12, 2020, Mumbaikars experienced a three-hour power outage for the first time. On February 27, the power supply to major sections of Mumbai was disrupted due to the tripping of MahaTransco's 220 KV transmission line on Mulund-Trombay.

 

Raut stated that the people who are concerned will not be spared, although his department has yet to form up a committee. Three committees have already investigated the power outages in Mumbai on October 12, 2020, indicating the urgent need to upgrade the transmission network to evacuate power from outside the city, but progress has been slow owing to a variety of factors, including red tape.

 

The state government's technical committee, formed after a power outage in Mumbai on October 12, 2020, caused by grid disturbances, emphasized the need for coordination between the state load dispatch centre and utilities, as well as the implementation of an action plan to deal with such emergencies and transmission constraints on a war footing.

 

After the October 12, 2020 power outage in Mumbai, the state-run power companies proposed increasing installed generation capacity or embedded generation in the city, forming a task force to apply modern technology and trends in the electricity city and their impact on the Mumbai electricity network, increasing transmission capacity to evacuate more power into the city, and stepping up equipment maintenance. However, the implementation has not yet reached its full potential.

 

Furthermore, the Central Electricity Authority stated in its assessment that since Mumbai generation is expected to decline further by 2023-24, the existing 220 kV network in Mumbai will be further stressed. To compensate for the shortage in embedded generation, the Mumbai area must rely primarily on external sources to meet its power supply needs.