In analysing the grid failure of 2012, it was observed that overloading and consequent tripping of 220 kV system had pushed the system to the edge. As is the case with most system failures, no single factor was responsible for the grid disturbance.

The power sector in India is governed by the Electricity Act, 2003 (Act). The sector is divided into three major divisions - generation, transmission and distribution.

Once at the forefront of power generation in India, today hydro power has fallen far behind. We take a look at what ails the sector and the possible solutions to restore its former glory.

Just think of power going off while an important surgery is taking place in a hospital and it will not get back for a day or two. The kind of disruption an electricity blackout arising from grid collapse can cause is enormous for different people at various places. Grid collapse is the worst-case scenario for any transmission utility too.

The summer of 2017 promises to be a watershed year for India. While the government burns the midnight oil to introduce GST by start of the upcoming financial year, Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (I/C) Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, is confident that all villages will be connected to the grid by May 2017.

The summer of 2017 promises to be a watershed year for India. While the government burns the midnight oil to introduce GST by start of the upcoming financial year, Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (I/C) Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, is confident that all villages will be connected to the grid by May 2017.

India is among the top five global economies with a GDP of over $4 trillion based on purchasing power parity. The high level of economic growth is likely to have a strong impact on the infrastructure and energy consumption levels in the country. Presently, India largely depends on coal to meet its commercial energy demand.

My long years of service and research in oil & gas and power and energy had made me to understand the probable reasons attributing to the swinging equilibrium of the sector ever since the nationalisation of electricity services began in India.

The most common technology used for hydro is run-of-the-river power plants that is used mostly for small hydro projects with capacity less than 25 MW. For large hydro the most common technology used is the pumped storage technology that uses reservoirs to store water, and generate power with the differential height.