There were apprehensions that the 9-minute lights-off exercise on Sunday night might result in the collapse of the grid because of the sudden drop and spurt in demand for electricity due to the switching off and switching on of lights at 9pm and 9:09pm, respectively. Thanks to the efficient planning by engineers and the concerted coordination carried out by the Ministry of Power, everything went on smoothly.

"Demand went down from 117300 Megawatts at 2049 hrs to 85300 MW till 2109 hrs; a reduction of 32000 MW. Then it started increasing. Frequency was maintained within a band of 49.7 to 50. 26 Hz, which means voltage was kept stable," Union Power Minister RK Singh has told ANI.

As reported by Indian Express, at 8:49pm or so, there were anxious moments because the frequency had been dropping. With proper homework, the engineers could rise up to the occasion and save the grid from collapsing.

In summation, as engineer Arun Bothra puts it, "During the #9PM9minute All India demand of electricity came down to 85 GW. A drop of whopping 32 GW. It was much beyond the expected drop of 12 GW. However, a robust system, flawless planning by engineers and close monitoring by the Ministry of Power ensured no disruption."