Power Is Restored Across India After Massive Blackout

Passengers waited Tuesday for train service to be restored in New Delhi. More Photos »

NEW DELHI – As electric power was restored across India on Wednesday, the nation’s new power minister sought to tamp down a growing argument between state and federal ministers over who was to blame for Tuesday’s unprecedented blackout.

“I don’t think one can have a blame game between the state and the center,” said Veerappa Moily, the new power minister.

More than half of India’s population lost electricity on Tuesday after a cascading series of problems in three of the nation’s power grids shut down power from Imphal in the east to Jaisalmer in the west, and from Leh in the north to Bhubaneswar in the middle of the country.

The blackout affected an area encompassing about 670 million people, or roughly 10 percent of the world’s population. It trapped coal miners, stranded train passengers and caused huge traffic jams in the nation’s capital. Read Full Story...