Power consumption up as mercury rises

Before Covid pandemic, the maximum usage per day was 194 MU, but it went up to 217 MU on February 16
Image used for representational purpose only.
Image used for representational purpose only.

HYDERABAD: With summer intensifying in the State, usage of appliances like air conditioners, coolers, fans and refrigerators has increased, resulting in higher consumption of power. Since the beginning of March, consumers are becoming increasingly dependent on power to beat the rising heat. With this, power consumption has been hovering around the 250 million units (MU) mark through the month and it can be safely assumed that it would only increase in the coming days.

According to Transco, power consumption in Telangana was 164.150 MU on January 16 and has increased to 217.013 MU by February 16. On March 16, power consumption in the State stood at 261.814 MU, while the peak consumption so far was recorded to be 265.506 MU on March 10. During the same period last year, power consumption was around 260 MU.Before Covid-19, when summer heat would begin to peak in April, the maximum power consumption was 194 MU. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a sharp rise in power demand due to work from home and more usage of electrical appliances.Officials said that there is a possibility of power consumption going beyond 280 MU per day. There are around 1.60 crore power consumers in the State, including 52 lakh in the Greater Hyderabad region.

In Hyderabad, the highest single-day power usage before the formation of the State was 46 million units. This has increased to over 70 million units per day during summers. After bifurcation, the highest single-day power consumption is 74 million, which was recorded in May 2019.Meanwhile, temperatures continue to rise in the State. On Thursday, districts like Peddapalli, Mulugu, Kumurambheem Asifabad, Nirmal and Adilabad witnessed temperatures going close to 43 0C. Among all parts, Srirampur in Peddapalli district recorded the highest temperature of 43 0C.

During the last 24 hours, the highest temperature of 42.9 0C was recorded at Manthani in Peddapalli and the lowest temperature of 15.4 0C was recorded at Reddy Palle in Rangareddy. Maximum temperatures are likely to hover in the range of 41 0C to 43 0C in the next three days.

Peak usage seen on March 10
According to Transco, power consumption in Telangana was 164.150 MU on January 16 and has increased to 217.013 MU by February 16. On March 16, power consumption in the State stood at 261.814 MU, while the peak consumption so far was recorded to be 265.506 MU on March 10. During the same period last year, power consumption was around 260 MU. Officials said that there is a possibility of power consumption going beyond 280 MU per day

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