Delhi’s peak power demand hits record 5,701 MW

Delhi’s peak power demand hit a record 5,701 megawatts (MW) on Friday, when the national capital recorded its lowest temperature of the season at 3.9°C coupled with dense fog.

According to the State load dispatch centre (SLDC), Delhi’s peak power demand clocked 5,701 MW at 10:49 am on Friday, the highest ever witnessed during the winter months. Peak power demand during winter months last year was 5,526 MW, which was recorded on January 6, 2023.

The previous winter records in Delhi were 5,611 MW, recorded on January 10, 2024 and 5,559 MW recorded on January 5, 2024. In 2024, barring January 2, Delhi’s peak power demand has remained above 5,000 MW.

BSES Rajdhani Power (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power (BYPL) successfully met the peak power demand of 2,484 MW and 1,185 MW, respectively.

Tata Power Delhi Distribution (Tata Power-DDL) said it successfully met the all-time highest winter peak power demand, reaching 1,774 MW, without any network constraints and power outages.

Adequate arrangements to meet demand

BSES said its discoms are fully geared to ensure a reliable power supply for its nearly 50 lakh consumers and around 2 crore residents during the winter months.

A BSES official said that apart from long-term agreements, over 2,000 MW of green power will play a significant role in ensuring reliable power supply to BSES consumers during the winter months.

This includes 840 MW of solar power from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), 540 MW of hydropower, 500 MW of wind power, around 40 MW from Waste-to Energy and about 160 MW of roof-top solar power installed on roof-tops in South, West, East and Central Delhi.

Up to 60 per cent of the maximum winter power demand of up to 3,600 MW in BSES areas will be met with green power, the official added.

Tata Power-DDL is expecting the peak demand to breach the 1,800 MW mark this season and has made adequate arrangements including long-term power tie-ups to meet the demand and has ensured the reliability of its equipment at these low temperatures and foggy conditions.

A sufficient quantum of power is available from long-term sources with the company which would help in meeting the peak demand effectively, it added.

Inclement weather

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), cold day conditions prevailed in many parts of Haryana and isolated pockets over Himachal Pradesh, West Uttar Pradesh, northwest Rajasthan, Bihar, Chandigarh and Delhi on Thursday.

In the last 24 hours (till 8:30 AM on Friday), minimum temperatures were in the range of 3-7°C over most parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Rajasthan; in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, south Rajasthan, north Madhya Pradesh and in isolated pockets of Bihar.

“Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions (are) very likely to continue in isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi on January 12th and 13th and cold wave conditions in isolated pockets on January 14th, 2024,” it added.

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