Sweltering heat pushes Delhi's power demand to all time high of 7,241 MW

The power demand in Delhi broke all previous records, touching a peak of 7,241 MW on Monday afternoon as sweltering heat continued unabated in the national capital.

Delhi saw highest power demand ever at 3.29 PM. It broke the previous record of 7,016 MW demand on July 10, 2018, said a BSES spokesperson.

"Delhi's peak power demand during the summers of 2019 may clock 7,400 MW, an increase of over 250 per cent over the peak power demand of 2,879 MW in 2002," he said.

Power in Delhi is supplied by three distribution companies -- Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), and BSES discoms BYPL and BRPL.

"The TPDDL successfully met the record peak power demand of 2,014 MW without any network constraint and power outage as Delhi touched a record high of 7,241 MW on Monday," said a TPDDL spokesperson.

The BSES discoms, BRPL and BYPL, "successfully" met all-time high peak power demands of 3,132 MW and 1,629 MW in their respective areas. Last year, peak power demand had clocked 3,081 MW and 1,561 MW in their respective areas, said the BSES spokesperson.

The TPDDL expects the peak power demand in North and North West Delhi areas supplied by it to cross 2,250-MW mark in the coming days.

"We have made adequate arrangements of up to 2,500 MW power, along with contingency planning through long-term tie-ups and power banking arrangements, and upgraded network to ensure regular supply," said Sanjay Banga, CEO of TPDDL.

Delhi's peak power demand is more than the power demand of Mumbai and Chennai put together, and thrice than that of Kolkata, said the discom spokesperson.

Extensive use of air conditioners is the main reason behind the increase in Delhi's power load, the officials said.

In fact, according to estimates, almost around 50 percent of Delhi's power demand in summers is because of the cooling load involving air conditioners, coolers and fans, they said.

The BSES spokesperson said arrangements have been firmed up by its discoms to source adequate electricity to meet the power demand of over 42 lakhs consumers in its areas.

These arrangements include long term PPAs and banking arrangements with other states including Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Manipur and Sikkim, he said.