PowerWatch | Peak demand touched 194.2 GW on July 28; share of renewables at 13.61%

Coal stocks continue to be manageable, as of now, data showed.

India met a peak power demand of 194.2 gigawatts (GW) on June 28, which was the same as the demand met on June 29. The peak power demand has remained below the 200 GW mark for at least four consecutive days, which can be attributed to monsoon reaching several parts of the country, officials said.

The peak demand deficit, which refers to the shortfall in meeting the demand, stood at 50 megawatts (MW) on June 28 against 318 MW on June 27.

The share of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hybrid in the total energy generation on June 28 was 13.61 percent. The share of renewable energy along with hydropower, nuclear and others was 28.65 percent, according to data.

The non-solar or night-time peak power demand also remained close to the day-time peak demand at 192.5 GW.

On June 9, the country witnessed a record-high power demand of 223.23 GW, surpassing the previous high of 222.92 GW recorded on June 8.

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

Coal stocks continue to be manageable, as of now, data showed. Of the 165 domestic coal-based thermal power plants in the country, 39 had critical stocks as on June 28. Last year, at this time, there were 96-105 such plants. At least 33.2 million tonnes (MT) of coal are stocked at thermal power plants.

Keeping in mind the sustained growth in power demand, the government on June 12 also extended its direction to imported coal-based plants to mandatorily operate and generate power till September 30 this year. This direction was issued under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003. Prior to the June 12 extension, the mandate was to be valid till June 15.