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Current Events => Breaking News => Topic started by: NHSparky on July 31, 2012, 01:57:28 PM

Title: India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power
Post by: NHSparky on July 31, 2012, 01:57:28 PM
India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/07/31/Foreign/Images/512713514.jpg)

LINK TO WAPO (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/india-blackout-on-second-day-leaves-600-million-without-power/2012/07/30/gJQA7j1LMX_story.html)

By Simon Denyer and Rama Lakshmi,
Published: July 30 | Updated: Tuesday, July 31, 2:15 PM
(c) Washington Post

(excerpt)

NEW DELHI — The worst blackout in India’s history spread to more than half the country Tuesday, as an electrical grid collapse in 14 states deprived at least 600 million people of power, many for a second day.

The blackout, one of the largest in global history by the number of people affected, dramatically underlined the concerns industry leaders have raised for years – that the nation’s horribly inefficient power sector is dragging on the economy and could undermine its longer-term ambitions.

More generally, it renewed concerns about India’s failure to invest in the infrastructure needed to support its rapidly growing economy, in sharp contrast to neighboring China. It also destroyed one myth about the country – that its entrepreneurial spirit and vibrant private sector could somehow deliver a brighter future without a dramatic improvement in the way the country is governed.

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Now while the Indian power grid is pretty iffy at best, to have THREE major grids fail in a country is some serious stuff.  Imagine everyone east of the Mississippi River without power for two days or more in this country, and you begin to understand the significance of what's happening in India.
Title: Re: India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power
Post by: rich_t on July 31, 2012, 03:24:53 PM
All those US call centers over there too.....

Might be a good reason to move them back to the States.  At least we have a stable electricity infrastructure (for the most part).
Title: Re: India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power
Post by: rich_t on July 31, 2012, 03:26:23 PM
I remember that large power outage across the north east US a few years ago.  It wasn't pretty.
Title: Re: India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power
Post by: Gina on July 31, 2012, 03:26:57 PM
Dude can you imagine the smell?  no a/c and cold showers = stink!! :panic:
Title: Re: India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power
Post by: obumazombie on July 31, 2012, 03:40:22 PM
Dude can you imagine the smell?  no a/c and cold showers = stink!! :panic:
Yes, I can. I have been to the middle east.
Title: Re: India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power
Post by: Mr Mannn on July 31, 2012, 05:14:48 PM
This is our future under a 2nd Obama administration.
Title: Re: India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power
Post by: NHSparky on August 01, 2012, 06:46:01 AM
I remember that large power outage across the north east US a few years ago.  It wasn't pretty.

That was MINOR in comparison to number of customers lost (the 2003 blackout affected about 40 million people), and shows what happens when the various ISO (Independent System Operators) don't talk to each other.  Believe me, we've learned how to coordinate since the 2003 blackout.  And in most cases, power was restored within 12-24 hours.
Title: Re: India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power
Post by: Bondai on August 01, 2012, 11:31:16 AM
Considering the population and their social structure and the conditions that they live in normally, which in some cases is downright disgusting, this black out must be like a journey to hell. No lights, no refrigeration, no air conditioning plus a collapse of many of their services like trash pickup and other things that might be a affected by a power outage. This is a very dire situation for these people. I am sure that there are many of them that are suffering in ways we cant begin to understand, it's not like they live under the best of conditions to begin with.

I certainly hope that their Government can get this under control and get the power turned back on before things get really bad.
Title: Re: India blackout, on second day, leaves 600 million without power
Post by: NHSparky on August 01, 2012, 11:35:21 AM
Considering the population and their social structure and the conditions that they live in normally, which in some cases is downright disgusting, this black out must be like a journey to hell. No lights, no refrigeration, no air conditioning plus a collapse of many of their services like trash pickup and other things that might be a affected by a power outage. This is a very dire situation for these people. I am sure that there are many of them that are suffering in ways we cant begin to understand, it's not like they live under the best of conditions to begin with.

I certainly hope that their Government can get this under control and get the power turned back on before things get really bad.

Problem is, their government is the CAUSE of a lot of these problems.  They're horribly corrupt, they have huge coal reserves which their government doesn't allow them to mine, residents and farmers are given power at highly subsidized rates or outright free, which in turn allows nearby industry to simply steal the power, there's no coordination between their grid systems, and on, and on...