E-Paper
Power consumption peaks at 28.2k MW; issues likely if demand goes over 29k-mark
People aware of the situation say that a little more increase in the demand will exceed the TTC, forcing the U.P. Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) to resort to more load shedding in the state.
LUCKNOW The demand for power is fast increasing in Uttar Pradesh amid the sultry weather continuing for several days. This demand has matched the total transfer capability (TTC) of the power infrastructure, which is designed to transmit electricity from the grid to the distribution network.
People aware of the situation say that a little more increase in the demand will exceed the TTC, forcing the U.P. Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) to resort to more load shedding in the state.
On Monday night, the power demand was recorded at 28,284 MW, breaking the previous night’s record of 28,043 MW. This was the highest-ever demand recorded in the state’s history.
The state’s total power transfer capability is believed to be 28,300 MW, only 16 MW less than the maximum demand recorded. A senior U.P. Power Transmission Corporation Limited (UPPTCL) official, who did not wish to be identified, claimed that as of now, there is no problem as far as the transfer of power from the grid to the distribution network is concerned. “However, the problem may occur if the demand crosses 29,000 MW,” he added.
Contrary to official claims about the historic demand being met successfully by purchasing extra electricity from the energy exchange, complaints about undeclared power cuts, especially in villages, frequent tripping, and power outages caused by reasons like the failure of transformers (around 1,000 transformers go phut every day these days in the state), burning of cables, etc keep pouring in from various parts of the state.
Apparently, authorities never expected the power demand to reach the level it has. The UPPTC in its annual revenue requirement (ARR), filed in the U.P. Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) last year, had projected the maximum demand in 2023-24 to be 27,531 MW.
“The peak demand handled has increased 83% between FY 2015-16 and FY 2022-23. The planned capacity of UPPTCL’s network is required to be increased suitably to meet the projected peak demand of 27,531 MW for FY 2023-24,” said the corporation in the ARR.
According to U.P. Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman, “There is a mismatch between the connected load and system capacity, that too increases by 17%-20% on account of electricity theft which may result in low-quality electricity supply in the peak hours during the summers. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen and increase the system capacity in the state. Accordingly, licensees need to work on war footing to balance the system,” he said while adding, “Officials have failed to make the correct load forecast and plan accordingly.”
The increasing power demand that kept a low profile appears to have caught the authorities off guard. “Since the demand during the two years of the Covid was quite low, the planning for the strengthening of the distribution as well as the transmission systems was not done the way it should have been since we never expected the demand to increase like this after the Covid,” another official said.
“Now, the distribution strengthening work under the Centre’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) is in quite an advanced stage while transmission projects worth ₹10,000 are also in the pipeline,” the official added.
