Delhi’s power demand clocks to May’s highest ever at 7,557 MW

A heatwave in parts of Delhi on Monday pushed the national capital’s peak power demand to its highest ever for May, according to discom officials.

Realtime data from the State Load Dispatch Centre, Delhi, showed the peak power demand at 7,557 MW at 3:33 pm.

This was the highest-ever peak power demand for Delhi in May, surpassing last year’s peak of 7,438 MW on August 22.

Discoms expect the city’s peak power demand to exceed the 8,000-MW mark this summer.

Delhi’s all-time high peak power demand was recorded at 7,695 MW on June 29, 2022.

Discom officials noted that Monday was the third consecutive day that Delhi’s peak power demand crossed the 7,000-MW mark, breaking the previous all-time May high of 7,070 MW, recorded on May 19, 2022.

Weather conditions significantly impact power demand. This was evident even during April when compared to the same period in 2023, they said.

In April, Delhi’s peak power demand ranged between 3,809 MW and 5,447 MW. In April 2023, it ranged between 3,388 MW and 5,422 MW, they added.

“The demand can be attributed to weather conditions that lead residents to use more air conditioning and cooling equipment, causing an increase in electricity consumption. Air conditioning can contribute to 30-50 percent of a domestic or commercial establishment’s power usage,” the discom officials said.

A Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited spokesperson said, “Tata Power-DDL successfully met a peak power demand of 2,178 MW — the highest so far this season — in our area of operations today without any network constraints and power outages.”

Peak power demand in BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) areas of south and west Delhi, which clocked 3,250 MW and 3,389 MW during the summers of 2023 and 2022, is expected to reach around 3,680 MW this year, a BSES spokesperson said.

In east and central Delhi — areas served by BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) — the peak power demand, recorded at 1,670 MW and 1,752 MW during the summers of 2023 and 2022, respectively, is expected to touch around 1,860 MW, he said.

The two discoms are prepared to ensure a reliable power supply to meet consumer demand, he added.

BRPL and BYPL successfully met a peak power demand of 3,274 MW and 1,664 MW, respectively, in their areas on Monday, the spokesperson said. (With inputs from PTI)