PM's 9-Minute Lights-Out Call Goes Smoothly Without Disrupting Electricity Grid

Despite the fear of a power grid failure, PM Modi’s ‘nine minutes at 9 pm’ call went smoothly without causing any disruptions in the power supply.

Bodh Gaya: Buddhist monks lights lamps and candles amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, in Bodh Gaya, Sunday, April 5, 2020. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged people to light lamps to express unity in fight against the novel coronavirus. (PTI Photo)(PTI05-04-2020_000242B)

New Delhi: Despite the fear of a power grid failure, PM Modi’s ‘nine minutes at 9 pm’ call went smoothly without causing any disruptions in the power supply.  Lakhs of Indian households responded well to the PM’s appeal by lighting diyas, candles, flashlights, and even mobile torches as a show of collective resilience and a mark of respect for the healthcare personnel fighting the pandemic. Power Minister RK Singh was quoted by news agency PTI, as saying: “The power supply ramp down and ramp up - they (officials) handled very smoothly, and I along with my senior officials -- power secretary, POSCO CMD -- were personally monitoring the situation from National Monitoring Centre in the ministry. I congratulate all the engineers of NLDC, RLDC, and SLDCs for handling the situation very efficiently especially in huge response to the Prime Minister's call." The minister also said that on April 5^th, the power consumption reduced from 117GW to 85.30GW four minutes leading up to 9 PM which was a much greater fall in consumption than the anticipated 12 GW. After the PMs video message on 3^rd April, Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut had warned of the dire impact on ‘power grids’ and emergency services. “If all lights are switched off at once it might lead to failure of the grid. All our emergency services will fail, and it might take a week's time to restore power." According to him if everyone switches off the lights together it can lead to a huge difference in demand and supply. He had also said that it would take 12-16 hours to restore the supply. But proper planning by the Power Grid Corporation Ltd and other agencies meant that any disruption to the power supply was avoided.