The electricity grid supplying power to northern states recorded a massive load drop of 16.5 GW after multiple power system elements tripped at around 2 pm on Monday, the Northern Regional Load Despatch Centre (NRLDC) said. The multiple tripping event occurred right after power demand in the northern region peaked at an unprecedented 89.4 GW, driven by severe heatwave conditions prevailing across the region.

The grid incident unfolded as a key body of power engineers employed across state and central utilities sounded the alarm over an impending surge in agricultural load in Punjab by end-June, warning it “may lead to an unmanageable power situation”.

As peak demand in the northern region touched 89.4 GW at around 1:53 pm on Monday, multiple grid elements tripped leading to a load loss of 16.5 GW, or 18 per cent of peak demand. Haryana experienced the highest load drop of 4.1 GW, followed by Punjab at 3.8 GW. Both Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan faced a load loss of around 2.8 GW each, while Delhi saw a drop of 2.All transmission elements that tripped were restored by 4 pm, NRLDC said in a release. On the generation side, tripping of hydro and thermal generating units lead to a cumulative loss of 1.2 GW each. Additionally, 2.8 GW of solar capacity in Rajasthan was also affected.

In its letter to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann sent on Monday, the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) chairman Shailendra Dubey, said, “While the situation of power availability and supply is becoming serious day by day, neither the government of India nor any state government has initiated steps to control the power demand. If the situation continues, there are fair chances of grid disturbance.”

“In the state of Punjab, the power consumption has gone up by 43 per cent between June 1 to 15, 2024, when compared to the same period during 2023… additional agricultural load expected to rise by the end of June due to paddy cultivation in the whole state of Punjab, may lead to an unmanageable power situation,” Dubey cautioned.

While a surge in domestic consumption load in the country’s northern parts is behind the multiple tripping, a Union Ministry of Power spokesperson told The Indian Express, “All utilities have been advised to maintain a state of high alert and minimise forced outage of equipment”. To meet demand, the Northern Region is also importing 25-30 per cent of its power requirement from the neighbouring regions, the spokesperson said.