Indian experience on smart grid application in blackout control

Indian grid system, presently synchronized & operating as National Grid, is balanced for multi-dimensional growth. In spite of this advancement, it is still vulnerable to threat like super cyclone Phailin, July 2012 blackout which rendered the entire high voltage transmission grid dysfunctional and finally leading to isolation of the normally served load. Failure of the grid results in loss of multiple generating units or plants almost simultaneously. Incorporating smart grid technology into the existing grid infrastructure can be a possible solution to this problem. An attempt has been made in this paper to use smart grid in blackout control referring to smart grid pilot projects in India. Several long term & short term as well as non-technical solutions in consequence with smart grid have been proposed and discussed in order to prevent wide area blackout.