Heat is on: Power generation dips as demand at record high

Express News Service
After record high temperature on April day in the last 51 years on Wednesday, Delhi has even higher temperatures predicted for Friday. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature is expected to touch the 44-degree mark on Friday.

On Thursday, the maximum temperature settled at 42.8 degrees Celsius, a notch cooler than Wednesday’s 43.5 degrees but still five degrees above normal.

With unprecedented rise in temperatures all over the northern and western belt of the country, power demand, too, has increased manifold. India recorded an all-time high consumption of 2,112 million units on Thursday.

Peak demand in the country has risen to a record high of 95,000 mega watts, and the situation in Delhi has been critical. At 3,681 MW, the Capital recorded the highest demand of the season so far on Thursday. “We expect the situation to improve from tomorrow as arrangements have been made to ensure additional supply for the Capital,” said A K Kaul, Director (Operations), Delhi Transco.

Starting Thursday midnight, Delhi will get 302 MW power from the central unallocated quota. Besides, power banking arrangements have been signed with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh for an additional supply of 277 MW.

For the fourth day in a row, powercuts had to be forced on the city , particularly in the South and the West, as Delhi fell short by over 300 MW on Thursday. While distribution companies have been instructed to try and effect loadshedding on a one-hour rotational basis, some areas of South Delhi had to sweat it out for almost two hours.

“With the additional arrangements in order, the situation is likely to improve over the next one week. It is also possible that there will be a slight dip in demand once the elections are over. Electioneering activities consume a lot of power. Moreover, in North India, the heat wave coincides with the harvesting season, which requires electricity,” a senior power department official explained.

Overdrawing power from the Northern Eastern Western Grid has also been cited as a reason for the loadshedding in Delhi. “With all northern states drawing beyond their allocated share, at some point we are forced to effect loadsheddings to avoid damage to it,” the official added.