PM Modi's Call to Turn Off Lights At 9 PM Poses No Threat to Power Grid Stability, Says Power Ministry

New Delhi, April 5, 2020:

The lights in Hospitals and all other essential services like Public Utilities, Municipal Services, Offices, Police Stations, Manufacturing Facilities, etc. will remain on. The call given by Hon’ble PM is to just switch off lights in residences

India's Power Ministry has clarified that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to turn off the lights at 9 PM on Sunday for 9 minutes poses no threat to the stability of the country's electricity grid.

Power Minister RK Singh said that a robust protocol is underway to maintain grid frequency through the lights-out period. He also informed that the national grid operator and the national despatch centre would coordinate with regional and state load despatchers to ensure grid stability.

Meanwhile, the Government sought to ward off the apprehensions related to the power grid instability by reiterating that adequate protocols are in place to handle the variation in demand without causing any damage to appliances.

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PM Modi on Friday, through a video message, urged people to switch off lights at their homes and light up lamps, candles or mobile phone torches for nine minutes at 9 PM on Sunday to display the country's "collective resolve" to defeat the coronavirus.

"Some apprehensions have been expressed that this may cause instability in grid and voltage fluctuation, which may harm electrical appliances. These apprehensions are misplaced," the Union Ministry of Power said in a tweet, adding there is no call to switch off either street lights or appliances like computers, televisions, fans, refrigerators and air-conditioners in homes.

"Appeal of the Hon’ble PM is to simply switch off the lights in homes from 9 pm to 9.09 pm on the 5th of April. There is no call to switch off either street lights or appliances like Computers, TVs, Fans, Refrigerators and ACs in the homes," said the tweet.

"The lights in Hospitals and all other essential services like Public Utilities, Municipal Services, Offices, Police Stations, Manufacturing Facilities, etc will remain on. The call given by Hon’ble PM is to just switch off lights in residences," tweeted the Ministry of Power.

The switching off of only the lights may lead to about 10-15 GW of reduction in electricity consumption out of expected demand of 115-125 GW on Sunday, said bureaucrat and BJP MP Ashwini Vaishnav who served in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

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Union Power Secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai also wrote to heads of state power departments, saying that the National Load Despatch Centre has worked out the procedures for grid balancing during the period, which they will be communicating to the regional and state load despatch centres separately.

He said there is no call to switch off either street lights or appliances in homes. "Adequate arrangements and protocols are in place to handle the variation in demand. People should be assured not to worry and continue running all appliances as usual," he added.

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