Power demand soars to May’s highest ever at 7,557 MW

New Delhi: A heatwave in parts of Delhi on Monday pushed the national capital’s peak power demand to its highest ever for May, discom officials said. Realtime data from the State Load Dispatch Centre, Delhi, showed the peak power demand at 7,557 MW at 3:33 pm.

This was the highest-ever peak power demand for Delhi in May. It was also higher than the peak power demand recorded last year -- 7,438 MW on August 22. Discoms expect the city’s peak power demand to cross the 8,000-MW mark this summer. Delhi’s all-time high peak power demand was recorded at 7,695 MW on June 29, 2022. Discom officials said Monday was the third consecutive day that Delhi’s peak power demand crossed the 7,000-MW mark, breaking the previous all-time May high of 7,070 MW, recorded on May 19, 2022.

The weather has a profound impact on power demand. This was visible even during April when compared to the same period in 2023, they said. In April, Delhi’s peak power demand ranged between 3,809 MW and 5,447 MW. In April 2023, the peak power demand ranged between 3,388 MW and 5,422 MW, they added. “The demand can be attributed to weather conditions that lead residents to use more air conditioning and cooling equipment, causing an increase in electricity consumption. Air conditioning can contribute to 30-50 per cent of a domestic or commercial establishment,” the discom officials said.

A Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited spokesperson said, “Tata Power-DDL successfully met a peak power demand of 2,178 MW -- the highest so far in the current season -- in our area of operations today without any network constraint and power outages.” Peak power demand in BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) areas of south and west Delhi, which clocked 3,250 MW and 3,389 MW, respectively, during the summers of 2023 and 2022, is expected to reach around 3,680 MW this year, a BSES spokesperson said.

In east and central Delhi -- areas served by the BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) -- the peak power demand, recorded at 1,670 MW and 1,752 MW during the summers of 2023 and 2022, respectively, is expected to touch around 1,860 MW, he said.

The two discoms are geared to ensure a reliable power supply to meet the demand of consumers, he added. BRPL and BYPL successfully met a peak power demand of 3,274 MW and 1,664 MW, respectively, in their respective areas on Monday, the spokesperson said.