PowerWatch | India's peak power demand remains low as rain brings respite from heat

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India met a peak power demand of 196.23 gigawatts (GW) on May 30, down from 201.4 GW that was met a day before on May 29. The decline in demand can be attributed to sporadic rains in several parts of the country, officials said.

The peak demand deficit, which refers to the shortfall in meeting the demand, stood at 480 megawatts (MW) on May 30 against 2,341 MW on May 29.

On May 23, India met the highest-ever peak demand of 221.34 GW. The demand on May 23 exceeded the previous high of 221.07 GW, which was met on May 17 when large parts of the country were experiencing heatwave conditions.

In 2022, the highest peak demand met was 212 GW on June 10.

The coal stocks' situation continues to be “manageable”, as of now, data showed. Of the 165 domestic coal-based thermal power plants in the country, 31 had critical stocks as on May 29. Last year at this time, the number of such plants was 96. About 33 million tonnes (MT) of coal are stocked at thermal power plants.

Coal stock is said to be at a critical level when power plants have less than 25 percent of the normative 26 days of fuel with them.

The share of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hybrid in the total energy generation on May 30 was 9.03 percent. The share of renewable energy along with hydropower, nuclear and others was 20.28 percent, according to data.