Delhi's peak power demand clocks 7,070 MW, highest in May amid heatwave

The sizzling heat pushed the peak power demand in Delhi to 7,070 MW, the highest ever in May, late on Thursday night, discom officials said.

"This is also only the fourth year in Delhi's history when the peak power demand has breached the 7,000 MW," said a discom official on Friday.

The power demand peaked to 7,070 at 11.24 PM on Thursday, showed the state load dispatch centre data.

The highest peak demand on Friday was recorded at 6,943 that is also likely to shoot past 7,000 MW late in the night.

The peak power demand in Delhi breached the 7,000 MW-mark for the first time in 2018 (July 10), when it clocked 7,016 MW. The following year (2019), it clocked 7,409 MW (July 2), the highest ever recorded in the history of Delhi, officials said.

In 2020, it did not cross the 7,000 MW and peaked at 6314 MW. In 2021 (July 2), the city's peak power demand clocked 7,323 MW, they said.

This year, the expected peak power demand is 8,200 MW, officials said.

The peak power demand in dicoms BRPL and BYPL was also the highest ever in May, which was successfully met, said a BSES spokesperson.

Delhiites on Friday woke up to a warm morning with the minimum temperature settling two notches above normal at 28.2 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The maximum temperature is likely to soar to 44 degrees celsius in the day. Delhi had recorded a maximum temperature of 45.6 degrees Celsius, the highest this year so far, on Sunday.

Delhi's peak power demand has increased by 10 percent since May 1, officials said.

Since April 1, Delhi's peak power demand has increased by over 58 percent, discom officials said.

This is the 15th time in 20 days of May that the capital's peak power demand has crossed 6,000 MW, they said.

Delhi's peak power demand in May had not crossed the 6,000 MW in 2021 and 2020.

In 2019, it had crossed the 6,000-MW mark only on three occasions - May 29 (6020 MW), May 30 (6240 MW) and May 31 (6461 MW), officials said.

Cooling load is the main reason behind Delhi's power load. Infact, according to estimates, almost around 50 percent of Delhi's power demand in summers is because of the cooling load of airconditioners, coolers and fans.

Earlier, in April 2022, the peak power demand had been higher on 100 percent of the corresponding days vis a-vis that of April 2021, 2020 and 2019.

The strength of the network is critical to ensure reliable power supply. BSES discoms have ramped-up the network capacity by deploying both conventional and innovative solutions, said BSES spokesperson.

The BSES discoms have taken various measures, including preventive maintenance, online load monitoring, teams for monitoring complaints, deployment of mobile transformers, quick response teams, to ensure uninterrupted power supply, he added.