New Delhi:

The plummeting temperature in Delhi has raised power demand to newer heights with December clocking a peak of 5,213 MW, the highest ever for the month, discom officials on Monday said.

For the first time in Delhi’s history, the peak power demand in December has crossed the 5,000 MW-mark.

As per the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC), power demand stood at 5,213 MW at 10:50 am on Tuesday, after touching 5,046 MW on Monday.

Delhi’s peak power demand in December was 4,884 MW in 2023, and 4,964 MW in 2022, discom officials said.

The winter months in Delhi are expected to follow the record-breaking summer trend in peak power demand, which touched an unprecedented peak of 8,656 MW this year.

As per officials, the peak power demand in the capital this winter is expected to cross 6,300 MW.

A BSES spokesperson said that green energy will meet up to 53 per cent of the over 3,900 MW peak power demand in areas under BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL).

Advanced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools are also being used for accurate forecasting to tackle the growing winter power demand, he said.

BRPL and BYPL successfully met this season’s peak winter power demand of 2,194 MW and 1,038 MW in their respective areas so far, the spokesperson said.

Last winter, the peak hit 5,816 MW on January 22, marking the highest level recorded in the national capital in winter months.

The peak power demand in areas within BRPL and BYPL are projected to exceed 2,600 MW and 1,240 MW, respectively, officials said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Persistent heat wave drove the national capital’s peak power demand today afternoon to 8,647 MW, the highest ever for the city, discom officials said.

The previous highest peak power demand in the national capital was 8,302 megawatts (MW) on May 29 this year. Delhi’s peak power demand reached 8,000 MW for the first time on May 22, 2024, they said.

The extreme heatwave has pushed the city’s power demand northwards, soaring to 8,647 MW at 3:22 pm on Tuesday, according to the State Load Dispatch Centre, Delhi.

Since May 22, Delhi’s peak power demand has crossed 8,000 MW eight times so far, discom officials said.

According to them, the cooling load due to the increased use of air conditioners and other cooling appliances amid the relentless heat wave has led to a record rise in power demand in the national capital.

“It is estimated that air conditioning can contribute to 30-50 per cent of domestic and commercial power consumption,” said a discom official.

Hot surface winds continued to sweep the city on Tuesday as Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius, over five notches above the normal, the IMD said.

The national capital also recorded its highest minimum temperature of this season at 33.8 degree degrees Celsius.

Delhi Power Minister Atishi, in a post on ‘X’, said, “The power consumption in Delhi has once again broken all the records. While the hours-long power cuts are still common in cities of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, Delhi today met the peak demand of 8647 MW without any blackout.” Before the peak power demand records of 2024, Delhi’s previous high reached 7,695 MW on June 29, 2022. Last year, Delhi’s peak power demand was 7,438 MW.

The all-time high peak demand of 8,647 MW on Tuesday was more than 16 per cent higher than that in the 2023 summer.

Discom officials said the fact that Delhi’s power distribution network has been able to sustain the prolonged high power demand shows its robustness.

A BSES spokesperson said the company’s discoms BRPL and BYPL successfully met the peak power demand in their areas on Tuesday. Around 2,100 MW of green power is playing an important role in meeting the summer demand, he said.

Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), which supplies electricity to North Delhi areas, met the peak demand of 2,446 MW without any glitches, said a spokesperson of the company.

The company has made adequate arrangements via long-term and short-term measures and will ensure seamless electricity supply amid the ongoing severe heatwave in Delhi, she said.

“The TPDDL team is working round the clock to ensure uninterrupted power supply in its area of operation of North and Northwest Delhi,” the spokesperson said.

Except for last year when Delhi’s power demand peaked in August, it usually peaks during the end of June and early July, discom officials said.

The discoms had in their initial estimation of peak power demand for this year’s summer expected it to cross 8,000 MW and reach up to 8,200 MW.

The BSES discoms are geared to ensure reliable power supply to meet the demand of around 50 lakh consumers in South, West, East and Central Delhi, said a company spokesperson.

These arrangements include long-term purchase agreements and banking arrangements with other states, and deployment of the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning for predicting power demand accurately which is critical for ensuring reliable power supply, he added.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)