As mercury soars, power demand shoots up

Purchase of power by distribution companies has crossed 500 MW mark, for the first time in the recent past; Discoms may have to spend `90 crore in this month

- State consumes power at a record high on Saturday
- Consumption reaches 185 MU
- Discoms spends about ` 3 crore on Saturday and Sunday
- Power demand crossed the 9,000 MW mark in February itself

Hyderabad: As the consumption of power is going higher and higher in the State, breaking the previous records, purchase of power by the distribution companies has crossed 500 MW mark, for the first time in the recent past.

Purchase of power has been hovering between 200 MW and 300 MW in the recent past. However, distribution companies have bought 560 MW of power until April 2. They have bought 517 MW on April 1 to meet the demand for power in the State by purchasing it at the rate of Rs 2.50 per unit, on an average.

The Discoms have been purchasing power from the exchanges on daily basis to meet the demand where the price varies every day. They have long-term power purchasing agreements with Genco and others where the price would remain constant for months and years.

The State has consumed power at a record high on April 1 as the consumption reached 185 MU or 8,970 MW. The Discoms met the demand by procuring 58.3 MUs from TS Genco’s TPSs, 1.8 MUs from Genco hydel stations, 22.3 MUs from Singareni TPS, 43 MUs from Central Generation Stations, 39 MUs from non conventional energy sources and 19 MUs from AP. Among these, they have supplied about 12 MUs of power by purchasing it from the power exchanges. While the Discoms have procured about 8,200 MW from the Genco and other sources with which they have long-term power purchase agreements on April 1 and 2, they have purchased 530 MW on the average from the exchanges in these two days.

The Discoms have spent about Rs 3 crore to buy power from the exchanges on April 1 and 2. If the purchases go on at this rate in this month in the same way, they have to spend about Rs 90 crore by the end of April.

They have been buying power from the exchanges by spending about Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore in the past few months. The demand for power has been witnessing a steep hike in the past two months as the consumption is high in domestic and agriculture sectors. The Rabi season is at the peak and the farmers are running bore wells for six to nine hours a day to provide water to their fields.

Lift irrigation schemes being launched by the government has also started consuming power. Due to the severe summer, the consumption in the domestic sector has shot off the roof as the people have been using fans and air conditioners for more than 18 hours a day.

Already the demand for power has crossed the 9,000 MW mark in February itself. In the past two days, it is near to that mark and in the next few days Discoms may see more 9,000 MW demand every day, till the summer ends.

The government has directed the Discoms to be ready to meet the demand of 9,500 MW. Transco has called for short time tenders to supply power till the end of May at an agreed price.

The Discoms have been expecting to get 1,000 MW of power from Chhattisgarh on long-term basis as the power corridor from that State has already been constructed.

N M Satheesh