PowerWatch | Power demand continues to surge; touches 217.8 GW

PowerWatch

The country witnessed a peak power demand of 217.8 gigawatts (GW) on June 7 and 217.2 GW on June 6. The demand, which could not be met on these days, or the peak demand deficit, stood at 702 megawatts (MW) and 181 MW respectively.

The country's power demand is likely to increase through this week due to heatwave conditions predicted in some parts of the country. The southwest monsoon, however, set in over Kerala on June 8, after the longest delay in seven years. Besides, the western coast is also bracing for a cyclone.

In view of a sustained demand projected by Grid-India, the government has decided to continue with the full operation of NTPC's gas-based power generation to the tune of 5,000 MW till June 30.

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 7. 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.