Delhi's power demand likely to peak at 9,000 MW this summer, say discom officials

The city recorded an all-time high peak power demand of 8,656 MW in 2024.

Higher requirement during the upcoming summer months is likely to push Delhi's peak power demand to 9,000 MW, discom officials said on Tuesday.

The city recorded an all-time high peak power demand of 8,656 MW in 2024, they said.

"The peak load of the national capital is projected to reach 9,000 MW in late June or early July," Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited said in a statement.

A BSES official said several initiatives, including network strengthening and thermo-scanning to identify potential hotspots, advanced load-forecasting techniques using artificial intelligence and machine learning, were being taken to meet the rise in demand.

"More than 2,100 MW of green power will play an important role in ensuring adequate supply during the summer months," he added.

Last year, Delhi's peak power demand crossed 8,000 MW for the first time, the discom officials said.

It had breached the 7,000 MW-mark for the first time -- peaking at 7,016 MW -- in 2018. Since then, the rise in demand has registered a consistent growth, they said.

The expected peak power demand of 9,000 MW this year is an increase of more than 300 per cent over the peak power demand of 2,879 MW in 2002, they added.

Earlier this month, Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood directed department officials to take immediate and effective steps to maintain stable and uninterrupted electricity supply during the summer months.

Peak power demand in BSES - BRPL areas of south and west Delhi, which had clocked 3,809 MW during last summer, is expected to reach around 4,050 MW this year. It is likely to be 1,900 MW in BSES - BYPL areas of east and central Delhi, the BSES official said.

"In case of any unforeseeable contingency, BSES discoms will buy short-term power from the exchange, depending on the time slot," he added.

Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited said it expected summer demand in its north Delhi area to rise to 2,562 MW from last year's 2,481 MW.

The discom said it had made arrangements for up to 2,850 MW, apart from contingency planning, through long-, medium- and short-term tie-ups.