Delhi’s peak winter power demand breaches all-time high mark
The cold conditions underway in Delhi pushed the national capital’s peak winter power demand to an all-time high of 5,611 MW on Wednesday, discom officials said.
According to real-time data from State Load Dispatch Centre, the peak power demand was 5,611 MW at 11.08 am.
The previous all-time high peak winter demand was 5,559 MW on January 5, the officials said. Delhi’s peak power demand this winter is expected to cross 5,700 MW, they added.
According to the discom officials, the spike in power demand is mainly due to enhanced electricity use by consumers for heating purposes. The minimum temperature in Delhi on Wednesday was recorded at 7.1 degrees Celsius. On Monday, the national capital recorded its coldest day of the month as the night temperature dropped to 5.3 degrees Celsius.
A BSES spokesperson said company discoms BRPL (BSES Rajdhani Power Limited) and BYPL (BSES Yamuna Power Limited) successfully met a peak power demand of 2,350 MW and 1,174 MW in their respective areas of distribution.
Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) successfully met a record peak power demand of 1,753 MW without any network constraint or outage amid the cold wave that has gripped northwest India, a discom spokesperson said.
The company expects the peak winter demand to breach the 1,800-MW mark this season. It has made long-term power tie-ups to meet the demand and ensured reliability of its equipment during these low temperatures and foggy conditions, she said.
The spokesperson further said sufficient quantum of power is available with the company from long-term sources that will help effectively meet the peak demand.
Delhi’s peak power demand this winter is likely to soar further and cross the 5,700-MW barrier. Barring January 2, Delhi’s peak power demand this month has remained above the 5,000-MW mark every day, the discom officials said.
Ensuring reliable supply in any season is as much the function of proper power arrangements as also accurate demand forecast and a robust distribution network. On all these aspects, BSES discoms are fully geared to ensure reliable supply for its nearly 50 lakh consumers during the winter months, the company spokesperson said.
Apart from long-term agreements with power plants, more than 2,000 MW of green power will play a significant role in ensuring reliable supply to BSES consumers during the winter months, he added.