Delhi's Peak Power Demand Hits All-Time High Amid Heat Wave

Persistent heat wave drove the national capital's peak power demand on Tuesday 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% 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. Delhi also recorded its highest minimum temperature of this season at 33.8 degree degrees Celsius.

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 Ltd, 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.