NEW DELHI: Delhi’s peak power demand surged to an unprecedented 7,717 MW on Tuesday afternoon amid a heatwave, according to Discom officials.
Real-time data from the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) confirmed that the city’s demand reached this record high at 3:33 p.m., surpassing the previous peak of 7,695 MW recorded on June 29, 2022.
The capital has been experiencing severe heat for a couple of days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a heatwave in parts of the national capital and issued a red alert for the next four days. Forecasts indicate maximum temperatures will range between 44 and 47 degrees Celsius, while Tuesday’s minimum temperature settled at 30.7 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal.
Discom officials anticipate the city’s peak power demand to exceed 8,000 MW this summer, potentially reaching 8,200 MW. On Monday, the peak demand hit 7,572 MW, the highest ever for May, previously recorded at 7,438 MW in 2023.
A BSES spokesperson reported that BRPL and BYPL discoms successfully managed peak demands of 3,404 MW and 1,728 MW through power purchase agreements and network enhancements. They emphasized the role of approximately 2,100 MW of green power in meeting the summer demand. Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) also met its peak demand of 2,225 MW in North Delhi without outages or network issues. Discom officials attributed the spike in power usage to the increased operation of air conditioning and cooling appliances, accounting for 30-50% of annual energy consumption in residential and commercial settings.