<p>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. </p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>“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.</p>.<p>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. </p>.<p>“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. </p>.<p>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. </p>
<p>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. </p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>“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.</p>.<p>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. </p>.<p>“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. </p>.<p>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. </p>