The country witnessed a peak power demand of 218.67 gigawatts (GW) on June 12. The demand, which could not be met, or the peak demand deficit, stood at 385 megawatts (MW).
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. Power officials said the current record is also likely to be breached as extended-range forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Skymet Weather suggest that monsoon rains in the Indian hinterland may be patchy until the first week of July.
Also read: MC Exclusive | India's thermal power plants utilise 35 MT imported coal, meeting high demand.
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.
The share of renewable energy sources (wind, solar and hybrid) in the total energy generation on June 9, the day of the record-high power demand so far, was 14.53 percent. The share of RE along with hydropower, nuclear and others was 24.18 percent. The same was 15.67 percent and was 27 percent on June 12, data showed.
On June 9, the non-solar or nighttime peak power demand also remained as high as 214.2 GW. On June 12, it was 213.53 GW.
Coal stocks continued to be manageable, as of now, data showed. Of the 165 domestic coal-based thermal power plants in the country, 32 had critical stocks as on June 11. Last year at this time, there were 96-105 such plants. At least 34.5 million tonnes (MT) of coal are stocked at thermal power plants.
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