Rohit Chandra, Ph.D. Candidate, Harvard Kennedy School, had an article published in the Hindu Business Line last week entitled “Changing Power Structures.”
“A week ago, cyclone Phailin raged through Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. With wind speeds up to 200 km/h ripping through the countryside, it’s no surprise that electricity transmission infrastructure in coastal areas took a significant hit. Certain districts, particularly in Odisha, are still suffering from major electricity shortages after thousands of distribution poles and hundreds of kilometres of wiring were knocked out of service.
However, one potential catastrophe that did not occur in Phailin’s wake was a large-scale grid failure, which could have easily happened if the grid was not consistently monitored and managed.”