The United States power regulator seems to have taken New Mexico governor and former energy secretary Bill Richardson's comment that the country is a "superpower with a Third World grid" seriously.

A three-member team from the US Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission has decided to exchange notes with Indian grid managers on the nuances of tackling blackouts. The visit comes just after the recent collapse of a regional grid in the US and Canada, following which restoration of power took over four days.

The delegation, led by FERC Commissioner William Massey, will spend half a day at the Northern Regional Load Despatch Centre on Friday to see the systems in place for preventing blackouts, and more importantly how Indian grid managers are able to restore power supply promptly.

Even though the FERC visit was firmed up much before the blackout, the trip to the load despatch centre was not part of the original itinerary and was included after the US grid collapse took place.

An official at the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, however, said India still had a lot to learn from the US on grid management. While the recent blackout in the US was the second after 1977, India has experienced three regional grid failures during the past four years.

Also, in terms of scale, the grid system in the US is much larger. For instance, the regional grid that collapsed in the US on August 14 is equal to all the five regional grids put together in India.

Still, the US power officials may have a thing or two to learn from their counterparts in India. For example, with grid collapses being regular in India, steps to be taken for restoration of power are on the fingertips of the officials at India's five load despatch centres. The FERC delegation spent time at the CERC on Thursday and attended hearings of some cases.

The delegation would be advising CERC on the trading and transmission policies being firmed up by the Indian regulator presently. The CERC would also familiarise the FERC delegation on the provisions of the Electricity Act.