Delhi’s power consumption continues to rise for second day in a row

Delhi's power demand hit a record 8,231 MW, with expectations to peak at 9,000 MW this summer; utilities managed supply without disruptions.

Published on: May 22, 2026, 04:46:11 IST

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

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A mirage in Central Delhi during peak heat in the afternoon. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Delhi’s power consumption continued to rise to record levels for the second consecutive day, as a consumption of 8,231 megawatts (mw) at 3.31pm on Thursday marked one of the highest demands in May. The reading fell marginally short of 8,302mw, the highest power demand in May, recorded on May 29, 2024, State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) data showed.

Power distribution companies in the Capital said they were able to meet the rising power demand without any disruption to the supply across the Capital. Delhi’s power demand is expected to touch a peak of 9,000mw this summer, with power discoms making arrangements in advance.

Discoms under BSES said they successfully met the peak power demand of 3,762mw and 1,838mw in their respective areas. BSES further said its arrangements include long-term PPAs, bilateral tie-ups, banking arrangements with other states and deployment of advanced technologies such as AI and ML-based demand forecasting to accurately estimate load and maintain uninterrupted supply.

“BSES discoms have been successfully meeting Delhi’s rising power demand. Further, around 2,670mw of green power will play a key role in ensuring reliable electricity supply during the summer months in BSES areas,” said a BSES official, stating solar power is expected to contribute about 840mw, hydropower around 572mw and wind energy accounting for nearly 500mw.

Tata Power DDL also said it was able to meet a peak demand of 2,331mw in its jurisdiction successfully, without outages.

“As part of its summer preparedness strategy, Tata Power-DDL has undertaken comprehensive measures to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the peak demand season. Adequate arrangements have been put in place through Bilateral Agreements, Reserve Shutdown mechanisms, and participation in power exchanges to maintain supply reliability,” an official said.

Between May 1 and May 21, Delhi’s peak power demand in 2026 has been higher than the corresponding days of 2025 on 16 out of 21 days (around 76% of the days) and higher than 2024 on 14 out of 21 days (around 67% of the days)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jasjeev Gandhiok
Jasjeev Gandhiok is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times, where he covers environment, climate change, the clean energy transition and wildlife at the National Bureau. Gandhiok has over a decade of experience in journalism and is based in Delhi. He has reported extensively on Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This includes the region's air pollution woes, a polluted Yamuna and on urban wildlife still thriving in the region. He joined HT in October 2021. Prior to that, he had five-year stint at The Times of India in Delhi, where he also covered Delhi, with a focus on environment and wildlife. Gandhiok has covered some recent events around the Capital too, ranging from the farmers' protests, the northeast Delhi riots and the CAA-NRC protests, reporting from the ground on all of these. He also travels across the country to report on how environment and climate change impact everyday life, while also writing on endangered species. His reports in 2019 on toxic leachate from Delhi's landfills led to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) taking suo motu cognisance and ultimately asking the state government to start bio-mining to flatten and remove all three landfills in the capital. He also closely tracks the implementation of government policies on climate, renewable energy and environmental protection. His focus remains on impactful, public-interest journalism which explains how environmental decisions affect people's everyday lives.Read More

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