World's biggest blackout: 620 million people without power in India

[bemildred]

Source: CSM

India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity for several hours in, by far, the world's biggest-ever blackout.

Hundreds of trains stalled across the country and traffic lights went out, causing widespread traffic jams in New Delhi. Electric crematoria stopped operating, some with bodies half burnt, power officials said. Emergency workers rushed generators to coal mines to rescue miners trapped underground.

The massive failure — a day after a similar, but smaller power failure — has raised serious concerns about India's outdated infrastructure and the government's inability to meet its huge appetite for energy as the country aspires to become a regional economic superpower.

Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde blamed the new crisis on states taking more than their allotted share of electricity.

Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0731/World-s-biggest-blackout-620-million-people-without-power-in-India

[valerief]

1. It sounds like India's infrastructure might be even worse than the US's. nt

[bemildred]

2. Too centralized, all of them, here, everywhere.

If you want a robust system it has to be distributed and redundant. But that cuts into profits.

[valerief]

5. God forbid profits are 10% rather than 25%! nt

[Igel]

24. State run. n/t

[valerief]

27. Yes, in India, but I was referring to bemildred's "here". nt

[Igel]

25. Indeed. n/t

[bluedigger]

3. Well, that explains why I've been on hold for the last 24 hours with customer service.

[rocktivity]

4. DUzy candidate!

rocktivity

[uppityperson]

12. I was wondering what this did to call centers also, picturing that same scenario.

[Posteritatis]

13. I wonder what it did to the 600-plus-million other people affected. (nt)

[uppityperson]

14. Of course. I was adding something else also. nt

[heaven05]

17. profits

profits got hurt badly, so more people will lose their job.

[FBaggins]

26. Most have robust backup generation.

They wouldn't have been able to get the contracts otherwise. The US companies know that the Indian grid is less than reliable.

[Baclava]

6. no wonder

[wordpix]

9. wow, how do you even begin to fix this mess? I say send Rmoney...

[Baclava]

10. that's Bob, the local tee-vee cable installer

he's got it under control, I bet he can get you free cable AND internet access

[heaven05]

18. lol

[MADem]

7. In nine months, there might be a population boomlet.

Or maybe not--they floated that theory about the Big Blackout of Sixty Five, but later they said it was an urban legend.

Of course, that blackout didn't last days.

[wordpix]

8. this country could run largely on solar

Shades of what could happen here in the not-too-distant future

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

11. Or wind in the monsoon season.

[shawn703]

15. That's more people than in the entirety of North America

To imagine a blackout affecting that many people.

[Posteritatis]

16. Yeah, it's a bit of a disaster to put it lightly

More than half of the largest country on the planet unable to function properly (or at all, depending on what's needed to do so), and in midsummer no less.

Naturally the reactions on this side of the pond boil down to people fretting about tech support, though. Ugh.

[heaven05]

19. of course

profit is king

[Missycim]

28. are you talking about?

Are you talking India's Power grid? its state run so I dont think profit is important.

[heaven05]

29. no

talking about all the call centers. those places. all the corporate/tech stuff.

[thelordofhell]

20. I see their power grid is just as good as their tech support

[brooklynite]

21. Your average Mayor is out of office when a snowstorm brings a City to its knees...

You'd think the Indian PM would be looking for new work after a disaster affecting 60% of the nation's population.

[progressivebydesign]

22. There goes the Bain Capital stock... this is what they get for sending our jobs to India.

They don't want to pay taxes in places that don't value infrastructure, and don't want to pay American workers.. then let them deal with massive power outages in their call centers and tech centers.

For all the money people like Bain, and Microsoft, and the banks , have sunk into India with our jobs and investments, you'd think they'd get their shit together over there.

Bring the damn jobs back to America.

[valerief]

23. Bain NEVER suffers. Privatize profit, socialize loss. That's what they do. nt

[nanabugg]

30. Great discussion on radio about this. The uber rich in India not serving the welfare of the people

using more than their fair share of utilities, water, land etc. You know, just like here in the US and everywhere else...history repeats.