- Unless lessons are learned, it could happen again
The whole country went through a nine-hour blackout in the wee hours of Sunday, in a nightmarish episode which was not only the worst in decades, but also threw into relief the weakness of the entire distribution system. Perhaps the most amazing (and most dangerous) thing about the blackout was that it was not related to any adverse weather event. The last blackout of such magnitude, back in the early 1990s, almost 30 years ago, occurred after torrential rains. Of course, that was no excuse, for rains had happened before and after, without such a massive breakdown, but at least the cause was known, and the necessary precautions could be taken. However, this time the cause is not known. Yet it became clear that the system is vulnerable. Also, there is no dependable back-up, no real knowledge of what would happen if the precipitating conditions occurred again, or if some similar condition was again produced. It should be no reassurance that loadshedding had prepared many by having made them install UPS systems, and thus avoid the worst effects of the blackout.
Another aspect of the episode was how quickly people panicked; not because of a fear of the dark, but because of the unfortunate past. One reaction was that the Indians had attacked. The other was that Martial Law had been imposed. The silence of the government was understandable; it being a weekend night, but it was not reassuring. It should not be ignored that this psychological vulnerability will have been noted by forces hostile to the country, and are likely to be included in future planning. More to the point, enemies will be interested in finding out what are the flaws that would allow such an occurrence. After all, taking away a country’s electricity will be of inestimable value to an enemy at any juncture in a conflict, not just the beginning.
The whole episode did not reflect well on the government. There was little that could be done, except restore the power, but this should be a government committed to improvement, not to allowing such breakdowns. Only the knowledge that such episodes will be averted in the future will suffice to allow people to rely on the electricity supply.
