Power demand It usually reaches its annual peak in July when the humidity increases with the heat. But this year, not only did the city measure an all-time high in May, but demand has been at that level for nearly a month, testing the power grid's capabilities, much to the relief of engineers. It still holds up.
The city's daily power consumption has crossed 2,000 MW since May 15 this year, higher than the previous all-time peak recorded in July 2022, officials said on Tuesday.
Discom data shows that Gurgaon's power demand touched an all-time high of 2,385 MW on May 28 this year. A day later, the city recorded the season's highest temperature of 46.8 Celsius.
Officials said such an increase electricity Demand for May and June was unprecedented.
In 2021, electricity consumption reached its peak of 1,718 MW in July. In 2022, it also increased by 13% to 1,948 MW in July.
Last year, the peak was also recorded in July, but it was slightly lower (1,890 MW) than the peak electricity demand of 2022 because the summer of 2023 was moderate, with several spells of rain.
“Power demand is directly proportional to weather conditions. In NCR, it peaks in July with increased humidity, which increases power demand. This year power demand broke all records. has been,” said a DHBVN official.
He added that the worst of summer is not far behind, and the discom expects Gurgaon demand to touch 2,500 MW in the coming weeks.
Residents said they have no choice but to use air conditioners all the time because of the unbearable heat not only during the day but also at night.
“It is also unbearable indoors at night. Normally, the temperature is high during the day, but now the night temperature is also very high and there is just no respite,” said Sushant, a resident of Sector 48. Sharma said.
The silver lining this summer has been Haryana's readiness to ensure adequate power supply.
In 2022, coal shortages in thermal plants and a dispute over power rates with Adani Power led to supply shortfalls in April and May, forcing discoms to resort to shutdowns. The state later had to buy electricity at higher rates than usual.
To ease the crisis, the power department signed several long-term and short-term power purchase agreements last year, including with Adani Power.
In 2021, the peak demand for entire Haryana in a single day was 12,120 MW. It increased by about 5% to 12,687 MW in 2022 and 13,055 MW in 2023. Power officials told TOI that they expect power demand to breach 14,000 MW this year. Because of the unrest Heat wave.
The Haryana Power Purchase Center (HPPC), which purchases power from plants and various sources to supply DHBVN and UHBVN, has entered into power purchase agreements for 7,873 MW. An additional 2,528 MW of power is being generated from thermal power plants within the state, 846 MW from Haryana's share in other power projects and 2,921 MW of surplus power is assured through exchange arrangements with states. has gone
In total, 14,168 MW power supply is assured, and if required, HPPC can make last-minute purchases from other states, even if the cost is high, officials said.
“Higher power demand is expected in June or July this year. It is forecast to reach 14,287 MW per day in June and slightly lower at 14,262 MW in July,” said a power department official.
A DHBVN official said that while there may not be any problem with supply, the continuous high power load makes the power infrastructure prone to overheating and disruptions. “There is no power shortage at the grid level. But high ambient temperature and overloading increases the temperature of electrical equipment. This can trigger fire and explosion. We can avoid this by cutting the supply for a few hours. try,” the DHBVN official said above.
TOI had earlier reported that discom officials have installed coolers and fans at substations in the city to prevent transformers from overheating.