Delhi's peak power demand rises to 6,572 MW, highest ever in May: Officials

Amid sultry weather conditions, the peak power demand in Delhi rose to 6,572 MW, the highest ever in the month of May, discom officials said on Wednesday.

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 - 6,020 MW on May 29, 6,240 MW on May 30, and 6,461 MW on May 31, they said.

The peak power demand of Delhi reached 6,572 MW at 3.30 PM on Wednesday, showed realtime figures of the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) here.

The maximum temperature of the city had fallen in recent days due to weather conditions influenced by rain.

After this brief break, Delhi's power demand has again started increasing with rise in maximum temperature.

At 6,572 MW, the peak demand was the highest ever in the month of May. The previous high was 6,461 MW on May 31, 2019. This is the seventh time in 10 days of May that the capital's peak power demand has crossed 6,000 MW, officials said.

Cooling load, including increased use of air-conditioning, fans and other such appliances, is the main reason behind Delhi's power load.

According to estimates, almost 50 percent of Delhi's power demand in summers is because of the cooling load- air-conditioners, coolers and fans, they said.

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, discom officials said.

Delhi's peak power demand had breached the 7,000 MW for the first time peaking at 7,016 MW in 2018. The peak demand in summer this year is estimated by the discoms to remain around 8,200 MW, officials said.

The maximum temperature of Delh rose to 41.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and is predicted to touch the 43-degree mark on May 12 as moisture-carrying easterly winds make way for hot and dry westerlies.