North India in Dark for Second Day as Northern, Eastern Grids Fail

Large parts of northern India went powerless again on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 as the Northern Grid and sections of the Eastern Grid broke down.

The Northern Grid had collapsed on Monday, leading to power outages across seven states, including the national capital of Delhi, and power could be restored only by afternoon.

It is confirmed that 12 states are affected by the grid collapses. Meanwhile a statement from the power ministry has said that essential services be restored in the next two hours. This would translate to power for hospitals, VVIP areas, trains etc. Meanwhile all govt hospitals have switched to in-house power back-up. There is still no word on when power to homes and offices will be restored.

The Delhi metro is also at a complete standstill. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has said that all trains have been moved out of tunnels, to nearby stations for evacuation. DMRC officials have asked government if the hydel project in Bhutan can be used again today to run essential services.

As many as 300 trains in North India alone have been affected by the collapse of the Northern and Eastern grids, with many more trains likely to have been impacted in the Eastern states.