NEW DELHI: After a brief respite from heat, high temperatures returned to the national capital and so has the surge in power demand. The peak power demand on Thursday clocked 6,780 MW, which was not only the season’s highest demand but also the highest ever in May.
On Wednesday, the peak power demand clocked 6,572 MW, the highest ever in the month of May till then. Just hours later, this record was broken, when the peak power demand clocked 6596 MW at 11:18 pm, said power discoms.
“On Thursday, Delhi’s peak power demand increased by nearly 2.8% in just 24 hours and by 7.3% since May 1. The previous record was 6,461 MW, which was set on May 31, 2019. This is the eight-time in 10 days that the city’s peak power demand has crossed 6,000 MW,” said a senior official.
While the 6,000 MW threshold was not breached in 2021 and 2020, it had crossed the mark only on three occasions May 29 (6020 MW), May 30 (6240 MW) and May 31 (6461 MW) in 2019. According to officials, ‘cooling load’ is the main reason behind Delhi’s power demand with estimates suggesting that almost half of the surge in summers is because of the increased use of ACs, coolers, and fans. Discom officials predict that the peak load may reach as high as 8,200 MW in the ongoing summer.
Rain had brought down the load for some time, but electricity demand has gone up again on account of maximum temperatures as well as humidity levels shooting up in the city. In April too, the graph of power demand had rose steadily. From 5,735 MW and 5,761 MW on April 19 and April 20, it went up to 5,786 MW and 6,050 MW on April 27 and 28. The peak load then surged to touch and 6,197 MW and 6036 MW on April 29 and 30.
