Govt replacing insulators after tripping of northern grid

NEW DELHI: Concerned over tripping of the Northern Electricity grid last month due to fog and pollution, the government has started replacing conventional insulators with those made of polymers.

Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told the Rajya Sabha that work on replacing the insulators has already started. "Replacement is (first being) done on vulnerable lines."

In the first phase, transmission lines in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Delhi are being taken up.

A committee, he said during the Question Hour, has been set up by the Central Electricity Authority to inquire into the partial grid disturbances which occurred in the northern region on March 7 and March 9.

"The main reason for trippings of transmission lines prima facie was the unusual weather pattern and pollution in the region," he said.

Unprecedented fog and high humidity coupled with high levels of pollution, further aggravated by the absence of winter rains, resulted in the unprecedented trippings of transmission lines.

"The prevailing humidity level of above 90 per cent at that time being far above the critical level of 75 per cent was one of the major causes of the trippings," he said.

As an immediate measure, physical cleaning of insulators in the worst affected and most vulnerable areas was initiated to avoid recurrence of the incident, he said, adding the committee will submit its report within two months.