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How Delhi cut electricity loss from 50 to 5 percent

592 points · 336 comments · rbanffy

  1. motionlessveloc · · focus · HN ↗
    I wonder how many HNers recall life in Delhi even 20 years ago? Cutting electricity loss is one thing, but getting rid of "load shedding" (unplanned power cuts) is the really revolutionary part. It was not uncommon for the power to go out several times a day and you had to rush to unplug expensive appliances (TV, laptop), because when the power came back it was often accompanied by a surge. My office was wired with two sets of electrical sockets, one connected to grid mains and the other connected to the UPS (for important equipment only).
    1. gwbas1c · · focus · HN ↗
      I spent two weeks in Bangalore in 2014. Power cuts happened roughly every other day.

      Thankfully, I stayed in a nice hotel with an automatic generator, so the power would cut out for a second or two before the generator came on, and then would cut back out for a second or two a few minutes later when the hotel went back on the mains.

      1. vinay_ys · · focus · HN ↗
        Depends on the season. Until a few years ago Bengaluru had a different problem – when it thundered or rained, they would cut power to protect transformers from shorting out due to falling trees on power lines.
        1. pkphilip · · focus · HN ↗
          The problem is still there in Bangalore. Power goes out at least once or twice each day even now and so most medium to large commercial institutions have backup generators.
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