Grid operators seamlessly pull off PM’s pan-India lights out call

India electricity grid operators on Sunday managed the unprecedented ramp down and build up of electricity load within a nine-minute window, a feat that had not been tried anywhere in the world on such a scale and one that experts have hailed as a ‘miracle’.

At 9pm on Sunday, the load dropped sharply and continued to fall, as people even switched off appliances, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for switching off only lights. The estimated electricity load reduction at 32 gigawatts (GW) was enough to meet the estimated power demand of Pakistan.

“The anticipated reduction in all-India demand during this period of 9 minutes was 12,000–14,000 MW, considering that only lights would be switched off,” said a preliminary report prepared by the government.