Early Delhi summer pushes power demand to highest ever in March

Delhi’s power demand peaked on Thursday to touch 4116 MW, the highest ever for the season. It is expected to rise further in summer months and result in power cuts.

Early summer has pushed power demand in Delhi to an all time high. On Thursday, the city’s peak power consumption touched 4116 MW, the highest ever recorded in the month of March, officials said.

On Thursday, the maximum temperature in Delhi rose to 38.3 degrees Celsius which was the highest seen in the month since 2010 (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Officials of the power department say the early spike in electricity demand could mean that it could even cross 6,600 MW in peak summers months between May and July. HT had reported on Wednesday that power demand is expected to peak to record high and could result in blackouts.

“Until yesterday, Delhi had not seen the demand touch 4,000 MW in March ever. This is an early alarm for us and other power utilities to meet the expected peak demand of 6,600 MW,” said Rishi Raj Bhati of the Delhi Transco Limited.

It was at 7.18pm on Thursday that energy consumption of Delhiites peaked at 4,116 MW. This is because city dwellers experienced a hot day followed by a warm night on Thursday, with both the maximum and minimum temperatures setting records for the month of March. The demand goes up as the city’s summer heat forces residents to use air-conditioners, coolers and fans almost round-the-clock.

The maximum temperature rose to 38.3 degrees Celsius which was the highest seen in the month since 2010. At 23.7 degrees Celsius , Thursday’s minimum touched a level not seen in the city in March this century.

Records with the power department indicate that the second highest peak power demand in March was recorded in 2015 when the consumption was 3589 MW. This was followed by March 2016 when the peak demand was 3578 MW.

Peak power demand for March

2016 -- 3578 MW

2015 -- 3589 MW

2014 -- 3444 MW

2013 -- 3226 MW

2012 -- 3316 MW

The city of more than 20 million people has been recording a consistent rise in the demand for electricity, peaking to a record 6,261 MW on June 30 last year. It was a first for the peak power demand to cross the 6,000 MW mark.

The forecast for this year is 6,600 MW, an estimated 5.5% increase from last year’s record. The sudden spike could also trigger local faults in the supply network. The discoms claim they are prepared to meet the peak power demand.