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MUMBAI: A major grid failure caused a widespread blackout in India’s financial capital Mumbai and surrounding areas on Monday (October 12), the first such blackout in more than two years that stranded thousands of train passengers and delayed college exams.
The failure was caused by “technical problems” during maintenance work, the energy minister of Mumbai home state Maharashtra said in a video message. Power has now been restored in many areas of the city, officials and witnesses said.
Mumbai International Airport and the country’s two main stock exchanges located in the city, the National Stock Exchange and the BSE, said they were operating normally.
“Power was cut in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region due to a grid failure,” Brihanmumbai Power Supply and Transportation agency said on Twitter.
Adani Power and Tata Power, the other two power providers for the city of about 20 million people, said they were also affected by the blackout.
The state government has asked providers to provide uninterrupted power to hospitals, many of which are treating COVID-19 patients.
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Over the years, hospitals and other institutions in India have relied on emergency diesel power generators for backup due to frequent outages caused by demand outstripping supply, although the situation is now improving. .
Mumbai trains are generally packed to the max, moving more than 7 million people a day to their offices and factories, but their services have been restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and they carry far fewer passengers than usual.
Still, social media was peppered with images of people stranded inside unlit trains and at train stations. Trains have now resumed, the government-run department of railways said.
The Times of India said that last year’s online exams at Mumbai universities have been postponed due to the blackout.
