- Electricity has resumed in India's financial capital after a massive power outage lasted over eight hours across Mumbai.
- The power cut was the result of a grid failure at
Tata Power 's Kalwa plant. - Trains that were effected by the outage have been rescheduled and Mumbai University's exams have also been rescheduled to Sunday, October 18.
- Maharashtra's Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has ordered a probe into the power cut.
Mumbai is home to over 2 crore Indians and India's financial capital with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) located within as well as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). NSE and BSE were working fine initially but reportedly stopped updating for a while in the afternoon. No official statement has been made with respect to the same.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked for a probe into the incident to determine who is at fault. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Electricity has pointed the finger at Tata Power.
According to Tata Power, where there was an issue at its Kalwa plant, power has been fully restored from its end. Maharashtra Power Minister Nitin Raut updated that electricity has been restored to Mumbai Local Trains and priority is being given to emergency services like hospitals.
According to the government, power is being restored in phases so as to not trip the grid again. Trains that had come to a standstill have also been rescheduled.
Mumbai’s sudden black out blamed on Tata Power
Many parts of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane reported a sudden power cut at around 10:00 am. According to BEST Electricity, the power cut was a result of “TATA’s incoming electric supply failure.”
The company later issued a statement saying, "At 10.10 am there were simultaneous substation tripping in MSETCL's Kalwa, Kharghar causing a huge dip in frequency in Mumbai transmission system which led to tripping of power supply. Restoration work in progress to bring supply from the 3 Hydro units & Trombay units."
Meanwhile, Tata Power’s share price took a beating. The stock slipped nearly 2% to ₹53.55 after news broke.
"Inquiry will be held on what led to power failure in Mumbai," said Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut. A thought also echoed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Trains come to a standstill, Mumbai University exams get postponed
At least two of the city's railway lines came to a standstill — till Diva on the Central Railway and till Vasai on the Western Railway. Security personnel were spotted helping commuters who wanted to get down from suburban trains now stuck.
"In view of the interruption power at 10:05 hours due to grid failure of Tata Power company, services between Churchgate and Borivili are suspended. It shall be resumed as traction power supply is restored," said Western Railway. "Commuters are requested not to panic."
The city’s stock exchanges — the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) — are functioning normally.
The Common Entrance Test (CET), which kicked off from today, was conducted using power generators. The first shift of exam began at 9:30 am. "Due to the power backups, we have been able to continue the exam," said an official from the State CET cell. The next shift is set to begin at 2:30 pm.
Mumbai University exams, on the other hand, have been postponed to Sunday on October 18 due to the massive power outage.
Mumbai hospitals were instructed to assess that their supply of diesel was sufficient for eight hours and get enough supplies. BMC's disaster control department has been kept on stand by in case the power failure continues beyond two hours.
Virtual court proceedings via video conference links were also put on hold at Bombay High Court principle bench due to power outage.