‘This Sunday, turn off lights but keep ACs, fridges running’

People switching off lights for nine minutes this coming Sunday night should keep fridges and other home appliances running to ensure the health of the power grid, officials said.

KPCL officials said the prime minister’s advice to switch off lights and light lamps or candles to show solidarity with frontline healthcare workers should be followed literally.

“The average load during the evening in Karnataka is 7,000 to 8,000 MW. Turning off the lights will lead to a drop of about 800 MW, which is manageable if other utilities and street lights continue to draw power. Turning off everything may lead to complications,” an official explained.

Since it would be night-time, about 60% of the power would be generated by thermal plants while the remaining 40% would come from hydroelectric projects. If all the appliances are turned off, a sudden surge in demand after the nine minutes will affect the grid.

“At thermal plants, we have to maintain at least 50% of the production. Reducing it below 30% will make it difficult to scale up the production in case of higher demand as the process is time-consuming,” an official said, adding that hydropower projects, on the other hand, have the flexibility where the production can be ramped up in half an hour.

Officials also dismissed a viral message, apparently posted by an electrical engineer, that turning off all the lights may lead to the collapse of the grid, which is functioning at 40% of its capacity as industrial and commercial outlets are shut.