Delhi’s peak power demand clocked 8,000 MW on Wednesday, the highest ever in the history of the national capital, a day after recording an all-time high surge in demand since 2022, discom officials said.
On Tuesday, Delhi’s power supply demand surged to 7,717 MW, breaking the previous record of 7,695 MW set on June 29, 2022. Just hours later at 11.01 pm, the record was surpassed again, with the power demand reaching 7,726 MW. Reacting to the development, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal posted on his social media handle X and claimed that the surged power supply demand was "met successfully without imposing any power cuts" in the city.
"Today at 3:42 pm, the peak power demand in Delhi reached 8000 MW. The Delhi government has met this peak demand without imposing a power cut. This is a great achievement for the people of Delhi, because till 2014, there used to be long power cuts even at the peak demand of 5925 MW in summers. On the other hand, there are BJP-ruled states like UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where there have been power cuts of 10-12 hours in the last 2-3 days. This is the reason why the BJP wants to destroy the Aam Aadmi Party. Because our work shows the truth of their failure to the entire country," he wrote in Hindi.
The extreme heatwave conditions in the national capital have pushed Delhi's power demand. This is the fifth day in a row Delhi's peak power demand has crossed 7,000 MW and broken the previous all-time May high of 7,070 MW, recorded on May 19, 2022. Discom officials said that BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), and BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) were successfully able to meet the peak power demand in their respective areas.
As per the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC), during April 2024, the peak power demand was higher on 83 per cent of the corresponding days compared to April 2023, with a difference of up to 32 per cent, highlighting the impact that weather can have on a city’s power consumption patterns. Power demand can be attributed to weather conditions that led residents to use more air conditioners/ coolers, leading to an increase in electricity consumption.
Air conditioning can contribute to 30-50 per cent of a household’s or company’s yearly energy expense, according to SLDC. Delhi's peak power demand during the summer of 2024 may reach up to 8,200 MW, the SLDC data said. Peak power demand in BRPL's area of South and West Delhi is also expected to reach around 3,680 MW during this year’s summer. On the other hand, in BYPL's area of East and Central Delhi, the peak power demand, is expected to touch around 1,860 MW this year.
BSES discoms are geared up to ensure reliable power supply to meet the power demand of 50 lakh consumers and 2 crore residents in South, West, East and Central Delhi. These arrangements include long-term PPAs and banking arrangements with other states and deployment of the latest technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning for predicting power demand accurately, critical for ensuring reliable power supply, according to SLDC.
Around 2,100 MW of green power supply is also available to be used when required in the BSES area. Additionally, BRPL will also procure up to 500 MW through bilateral contracts. In case of any unforeseeable contingency, BSES discoms will buy short-term power from the exchange, depending on the time slot, the SLDC said.
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