Delhi ready to tackle rising summer power demand, SLDC monitoring grid: Power minister Sood

A day after Delhi recorded an all-time high peak power demand of 8748 MW, the demand breached the 8500 MW mark again on Tuesday, with power minister Ashish Sood assuring that his department is fully prepared to tackle any hike in the surging load.

According to the real-time data of the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC), the peak power demand was 8505 at 3.27 pm. The SLDC estimates that the peak power demand may touch 9,000 MW this summer.

Delhi is prepared to meet any surge in electricity demand, Sood said in a statement.

Despite the peak demand reaching 8748 MW on Monday, there were no major infrastructure breakdowns and the load was met seamlessly across the capital due to advanced, meticulous planning carried out months ahead of the summer season, Sood said.

“The extreme summer heat has pushed our infrastructure to its absolute limit, and the grid held rock-solid. The lights stayed on, and homes stayed cool because we planned for this months in advance,” the Delhi government minister said.

He assured that the power system is robust, and teams of the department are working 24/7 keeping watch on the situation.

For years, the city’s core utility network suffered from “policy paralysis”, where even minor load spikes led to widespread substation failures, local transformer burnouts, and hours of forced blackouts, said the minister.

Delhi’s State Load Despatch Centre is monitoring the grid in real-time. The administration remains highly confident in its capacity to handle the load, even if the prolonged heatwave pushes the capital’s demand toward or beyond the 9,000 MW mark in the coming weeks, the statement said.

Sood said the government is managing the “massive” demand smoothly because it secured sufficient extra supply well in advance.

A combination of strategic power-banking arrangements with other states, bilateral contracts, and dedicated green energy partnerships ensured a reliable buffer during peak hours, he added.