Downward reserve surge highlights Smart grid balancing pressure
Smart grid control became the main operating story on 5 July, when Grid-India despatched far more downward reserve than upward support. The daily ancillary and SCUC data recorded 137,744 MWh of TRAS downward despatch against 9,892 MWh upward. With secondary reserves included, the day closed at 144,367 MWh down and 16,449 MWh up.
This was not a shortage day. National evening peak demand met was 221,456 MW, down from 241,429 MW on Friday. The frequency profile showed surplus pressure through the day. The system ran above 50.05 Hz for 25.9% of the day and touched 50.302 Hz at 13:31.
The operating record links directly to Daily thermal power reports because conventional units absorbed the surplus signal. SRLDC’s outage register showed 1,500 MW of NTPC Ramagundam capacity under unit shutdown. Neyveli TS-II and LANCO Kondapalli units were also out of schedule or on reserve shutdown. EnergylineIndia.com records that Smart grid operations now require both midday absorption and sunset recovery. Smart grid stress reappeared at 19:42 when frequency dropped to 49.65 Hz. Smart grid planning must therefore treat surplus and ramping as one problem.