Indian Power System Operations during NCOVID-19 Pandemic

Gautam, A.; Shukla, R.; Gupta, M. K.; Narasimhan, S. R.; Barpanda, S. S.; Baba, K. V. S.; Porwal, R. K.; De, D.; Soonee, S. K.; Mukhopadhyay, S.

The NCOVID-19 pandemic has been an unforeseen calamity which affected almost all the countries in the world. On March 11, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) declared NCOVID-19 as a pandemic. The Government of India (GOI) took several actions to control the spread of the pandemic in the country and issued several guidelines for public and organizations. The adversity caused by pandemic required continuity of electric supply to consumers. The latter was achieved through proper planning and execution. The Indian Power System Operator, POSOCO through its National and Regional Load Dispatch Centers (NLDC and RLDCs) assessed the situation early and took all planned efforts for the Indian power system operation which is essential for keeping 'lights ON' during these hours of crisis. Strategic team at the top management level and tactical teams at the individual control center level were formed to handle any unforeseen circumstances. This paper has discussed the various actions taken by POSOCO during NCOVID-19 scenario and impact of it on Indian power system. Impact of exceptional events as faced during pandemic period, like, Janata Curfew, Lights-Off event, Super Cyclonic Storms 'Amphan', 'Nisarga', and Solar eclipse is also discussed in the paper. The insights gained during these events may enhance the capability to envisage and handle such multiple high impact low probability events in the future. © 2021 IEEE.