Delhi's peak power demand crosses 7000 MW, highest in this season

The scorching heat in the national capital pushed the peak power demand above 7000 MW on Tuesday for the first time this summer, discom officials said.

The realtime data of State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) Delhi showed that the peak demand was 7098 MW around 3.29 pm.

Power discoms -- BRPL (BSES Rajdhani Power Limited) and BYPL (BSES Yamuna Power Limited) -- "successfully" met the peak power demand -- 3103 MW and 1615 MW, respectively in their areas, said a BSES spokesperson.

Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) has successfully met the power demand of 2055 MW peak demand so far, said a company spokesperson.

Delhi reeled under hot weather conditions on Monday with the maximum temperature settling at 41.2 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature on Tuesday is also expected to remain around 41 degrees Celsius.

This month, Delhi's peak power demand has seen huge variations. It has increased from 4390 MW on June 1 to Tuesday's 7098, an increase of 2708 MW or 61 per cent, the discom officials said.

Last year in June, there were nine such occasions when Delhi's power demand exceeded 7000 MW, with June 29 setting an all-time high record of 7695 MW.

Additionally, June 2022 saw the power demand crossing the 6000 MW mark on 11 occasions and the 5000 MW mark on eight occasions.

In 2018, the peak power demand of the city breached the 7000 MW mark for the first time, reaching a peak of 7016 MW.

The expected peak power demand of around 8100 MW this year will be a staggering increase of approximately 280 per cent compared to the peak power demand of 2879 MW recorded in 2002, the officials added.

The BSES discoms are gearing up to ensure uninterrupted supply to meet the power demand of around two crore residents in South, West, East and Central Delhi. The arrangements include long term power purchase agreements and banking arrangements with other states, BSES officials said.

The BSES discoms will get up to 630 MW (BRPL up to 330 MW, BYPL up to 300 MW) of power through banking arrangements, they added.