New Delhi: In order to avoid outages in the electricity grid like the Mumbai 2020 blackout, islanding scheme is proposed to be implemented at seven new locations across India, said Minister for Power RK Singh on Thursday. In a written response submitted in response to a question raised in the Lok Sabha, the minister said, "… the islanding scheme was reviewed in the Ministry of Power (MoP) and it was decided that islanding schemes may be designed for all major cities of the country covering the essential loads. All the five Regional Power Committees (RPCs) have coordinated with the States and have identified various new islanding schemes."
According to the information shared by the Power Minister, two locations have been identified in eastern region — Patna and Ranchi — for the implementation of islanding scheme. In the northern region, the scheme will be put in place at Agra (Uttar Pradesh), one in Rajasthan for loads of Jodhpur and Barmer, Rajpura (Punjab) which would have loads of Patiala, Govindgarh and Mohali and another one will have loads of Pathankot, Sarna, Mamoon, Gurdaspur and Dhariwal. In southern region, Vijaywada is set to have an islanding scheme.
The Ministry of Power, with assistance of Central Electricity Authority (CEA), has prepared a "Crisis Management Plan" for addressing the manmade crisis situations such as terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, bomb threats, strikes etc, said Singh. "Apart from basic plan that encompasses the whole power sector, sector-specific generic documents on crisis management for thermal, hydro, renewable, transmission and distribution sectors have also been prepared. All such plans are revised on a regular basis to keep it abreast with the new challenges and issues coming up with changing times," the minister added.
While designing the islanding schemes, states have been advised that generating stations, which are spatially nearby the strategic and essential loads, may be given priority. "However, if there is a need to establish a power plant in/around such a city for the purpose, the proposal may be submitted for consideration of the concerned State/Utility. Possibility of installation of storage system at such location may also be explored," said Singh.
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