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The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh Government and two other states – Rajasthan and Haryana -- to explain the overdrawing of power and for blatantly flouting of norms governing access to electricity/power supply, which led to grid failures in the northern and eastern parts of India, and to one of the longest blackouts ever in the country on Tuesday. Officials of the Uttar Pradesh Government have been asked to appear before the commission on August 16, or they will be penalized, television reports said. The Union Power Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, is said to have informed the Prime Minister’s Office of the crisis, and put it officially on record, that the Uttar Pradesh Government and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had been cautioned and warned several times to stop overdrawing the power. He said that despite these warnings, the state government had ignored, or not responded. Yadav said that the Uttar Pradesh Government was not responsible for overdrawing power. He said that the power situation in the state was stable before the grid collapse. As of now, Uttar Pradesh is overdrawing electricity by five percent, Haryana by 51 percent and Rajasthan by 18 percent. The second blackout in two days affected as many as 20 states in north, east and northeast India , paralysing rail and metro operations, and causing major traffic snarls. Some of the states affected included Jammu and Kashmir , Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi , Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand , Sikkim , Assam , Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. These states account for half of India 's 1.2 billion population, or 600 million. Shinde categorically said that the overdrawing of power by some states was responsible for grids failing across the country. “Alternative arrangements have been made. I have put all my men at work. We are getting power from western grid. We will try to restore services of the Metro and the railways first,” Shinde told reporters here this afternoon. The Delhi Metro, which covers 70,000 kilometers every day and carries 1.8 million passengers, suspended service on all the six lines after the failure of the grids. Latest reports said that services have been resumed partially. New Delhi and several other cities faced traffic snarls, as traffic signals tripped and caused major snarls at intersections. The Chairman and Managing Director of Power Grid Corp of India , R.N. Nayak, said close to 50 percent of power had been restored in the northeastern region and 20 percent in the north. He said a full inquiry would reveal the nature of the problem. He added that every effort was being made restore supplies fully by 7-7.30 p.m.

CERC issues notice to UP, two other states for flouting power access norms