The Communist Party and Marxist (CPI-M) Polit Bureau today opposed the Prime Minister Naredra Modi’s call to switch off the light and light lamp country-wide on April 5. The Polit Bureau of the CPI-M in its press communiqué felt the call as a threat to the national power grid.
It stated, “The Prime Minister’s call to switch off lights for 9 minutes on Sunday night to ‘fight’ COVID-19 poses a real threat to the country’s electrical system -- the national grid.”
“What could happen to the grid with the simultaneous switching off and on of all household lighting loads, roughly 15% to 20% of the grid’s power? The grid could turn unstable and collapse,” stated the Press Communiqué of the CPI-M.
It stated, “We could then have a cascading blackout, like it happened over most of India in July 2012. Bringing the grid operations back to normal can take at least 2-3 days.”
However, according to the press statement of the CPI-M polit bureau, “The National and State grid authorities have already warned the central and state governments of the danger to the grid. The PM should immediately withdraw this call of a self-imposed blackout of the nation.”
“If the grid trips, the country will have to face the consequences of no electricity, and no ability to fight the epidemic until power is restored. This is a risk that the county, reeling under the current lockdown and the COVID-19 epidemic, cannot, and must not, take,” it stated.
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