Power demand peaks, sets record of 5653MW

‘The demand for power in Delhi created a new record on Thursday when it reached  5653 MW (mega watt) at 3.38 pm. The withdrawal of power from generating stations within Delhi was 1251 MW and from central sector stations was 4402 MW. The demand was met successfully. The over withdrawal at that time was 210 MW,’ said a Transco spokeperson.

The previous highest power requirement in the city was recorded on 5 July, 2012 when the demand touched 5,642 MW. Places across the city faced power cuts ranging from one to five hours due to tripping of distribution network because of increased load ,’ the spokesperson added.

Besides, load shedding to the tune of 50 MW to 200 MW was carried out from 11.45 am to 4 pm on Wednesday to restrict over withdrawal and also due to constraints in transmission and distribution system.

Due to the excessive heat and humidity the demand of power is increasing day by day. The previous highest demand of this season was 5315 MW on 27 May. 

The demand of power is increasing around 8 per cent per annum. It is expected that the demand may go up to 6,000 MW during this summer season. During the last decade, the demand of power has increased very rapidly. The demand of power in July, 2002, was 3097 MW.

The purchasing power of general public has increased and they are buying more gadgets that run on electricity. This is one of the factors of rising electricity consumption.

According to official figures, the power demand in 1905 was just 2 MW which had increased to 27 MW in 1947. The peak demand had touched 1,536 MW in 1992, while in 1997 it increased to 2,303 MW and further to 2,879 MW in 2001.