HYDERABAD: In an indication that peak power demand will hit 16,000 megawatts (MW) this summer for the first time, Telangana recorded its highest-ever peak demand of 15,062 MW on Tuesday. Last year on the same day, the peak demand was 12,727 MW.
TS Transco and Genco Chairman D Prabhakar Rao said the State saw the peak demand touching 14,138 MW a day earlier, which further increased to a record high of 15,062 MW at 10.30 am on Tuesday — an all-time record. With the increase in cultivated area and rise in industrial needs in the State, the consumption of electricity has been increasing over the last few years, he said.
Last March, the highest power consumption was 14,160 MW, whereas this time, the peak electricity demand has already touched 15,062 MW. All steps would be taken to ensure uninterrupted power supply to all consumers, including farmers, during the summer, he said.
The power utility department has predicted that the peak demand will touch 15,000 MW in March and made arrangements for electricity supply as per the orders of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, he added.
Telangana is just behind Tamil Nadu among south Indian States with high electricity consumption. About 37 per cent of the total electricity in the State is consumed by the agriculture sector.