A devastating earthquake rocked Gujarat, northwestern India, on January 26, 2001. One of the main electricity substations serving the region of Kutch was badly damaged – especially its control room and emergency power supplies. The Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) could not provide vital power for rescue efforts and medical centers.
ABB was one of the first companies to respond to GEB’s call for assistance. ABB and GEB engineers worked together to restore supplies with minimal delay, five days earlier than first hoped and before the monsoon rains arrived.
ABB service engineers were deployed throughout the region, equipped with reserves of spare parts. An ABB company doctor, with essential medicine, was assigned to the area and ABB India donated shelters and materials to facilitate rehabilitation.
Individual employees throughout the country donated cash, clothes, medicines, utensils, and food. Moreover, every ABB employee in India voluntarily contributed one day’s wages to
the earthquake relief fund.
