PowerWatch | India's power demand peaked at 211.6 GW during weekend

PowerWatch

The country witnessed a peak power demand of 199 gigawatts (GW) on June 4, 211.60 GW on June 3 and 206.31 GW on June 2. The demand, which could not be met on these days, or the peak demand deficit, stood at 37 megawatts (MW), 532 MW and 1,153 MW, respectively.

On June 1, the peak power demand was 199.4 GW, while the shortage was of 685 MW.  The drop in the power demand was because of pre-monsoon showers, which lashed several parts of the country.

However, the demand may rise again this week as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heat wave to severe heat wave conditions in parts of Bihar, northeast Jharkhand, West Bengal and Sikkim, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the next four days. The maximum temperatures are likely to rise in parts of northwest India by 3-5 degrees Celsius during the next five days, the IMD said. It added that maximum temperatures are likely to be above normal by around 4-6 degrees Celsius over northeast India during the next two days.

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, 30 had critical stocks as on June 4. Last year at this time, the number of such plants was 96. At least 35 million tonnes (MT) of coal are stocked at thermal power plants.