India's peak power deficit drops to 2.9% in November: CEA

The country's peak power deficit shrank to 2.9% in November from a month earlier as a delayed winter lowered electricity demand and utilities added generation capacity, according to a report.

The peak power deficit, or the shortage of electricity supply when demand is at the maximum, stood at 3,736 MW last month, provisional data with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) showed. Electricity demand in November was 127,665 MW, of which 123,929 MW was met.

"Some capacity was added during the month and demand also dropped due to the delayed winter. These were the primary reasons for the lower deficit," a CEA official told PTI. Consumption of power during the winter months increases due to central heating in offices and malls, he said.

The peak electricity requirement in the northern region comprising Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan was 35,755 MW, of which 35,365 MW was met, a shortfall of 1.1%, the CEA data showed.

Power supplied to the eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha and Andaman and Nicobar Islands was 14,806 MW against demand of 15,016 MW. The region had a shortfall of 1.4%.

The peak electricity shortage in the northeastern states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland was 3.9%, with power demand at 2,046 MW and supply at 1,966 MW, it added.

Demand in the southern states was 34,118 MW, of which 31,786 MW was made available -- a deficit of 6.8%.

In the western region, which includes Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, demand was reported at 40,730 MW, of which 40,006 MW was supplied, resulting in a deficit of 1.8%, according to the data.

In October, there was a peak power deficit of 4.3%, as per revised figures. The power requirement during the month was 131,286 MW against supply of 125,629 MW.