Power consumption on record-breaking spree

Delhi's insatiable appetite for electricity once again created an "all-time" record, this time whipping up a peak demand of 4,994 MW, and breaking the previous record in less than 24 hours.

Delhi's insatiable appetite for electricity once again created an "all-time" record, this time whipping up a peak demand of 4,994 MW, and breaking the previous record in less than 24 hours.

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On Thursday, the demand was a never-before 4,909 MW, but Friday's demand outgrew that and sent power supply utilities into a tizzy. Outages gripped several parts of the city, thanks mainly to local breakdowns and such technical constraints.

For Delhi, power utilities and the Delhi government has prepared themselves keeping in mind a highest demand of 5,100 MW or thereabouts, including a buffer. Friday's high is dangerously close to that mark. Power officials, like consumers, are expecting monsoon rains to bring in timely relief.

On Friday, though, availability was not a problem as central sector power stations sent 3,943 MW, while Delhi's own generation was close to 1,000 MW, taking care of much of the need. Of the 98 million units (MU) needed, around 97.4 MU was pumped in, the rest lost due to technical faults, the Delhi Transco said.

Delhi has been coughing up power demand at an incredible speed in the past one year. While last year the highest ever demand reached 4,720 MW on July 1, that record was shortlived. This year in May it crossed 4,823 MW, a record only to be broken within a few days. What could be of some relief is that weekends tend to generate less power demand since schools, offices, etc., are shut.