Delhi’s power demand hits its highest level so far this summer

New Delhi: Amid rising temperatures in the capital city, Delhi’s demand for electricity touched 5,462 MW on Wednesday afternoon, the highest so far this summer.

The demand was up from Tuesday’s peak power requirement of 5,029 MW, and much higher than the capital city’s demand for 4,321 MW of electricity on 9 April last year, showed data from the State Load Despatch Centre, Delhi.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘yellow alert’ for heatwave conditions in Delhi-National Capital Region. On Wednesday, Delhi recorded its highest minimum temperature in April in three years, at 25.6 degrees Celsius, which was 5.6 degrees above normal.

BSES, a joint venture of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and the national capital territory administration, said in a statement that its power distribution companies—BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd—successfully met the peak power demand in their respective areas.

Delhi is projected to witness its highest power demand this year, at about 9,000 MW, as temperatures rise further, surpassing the previous record of 8,656 MW logged last year.

BSES said electricity demand in South Delhi and West Delhi, catered by BSES Rajdhani Power, was expected to reach around 4,050 MW this summer. In East Delhi and Central Delhi, served by BSES Yamuna Power, peak power demand is expected to touch 1,900 MW.

Power partnerships

“BSES discoms are geared up to ensure reliable power supply to meet the power demand of more than 50 lakh consumers and 2 crore residents in South, West, East and Central Delhi,” the company said in its statement.

“These arrangements include long-term PPAs (power purchase agreements) and banking arrangements with other states and deployment of latest technologies like AI and ML for predicting power demand accurately, critical for ensuring reliable power supply,” it added.

BSES also said it had entered into power banking arrangements with several states for securing up to 500 MW of electricity during the summer.

According to Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd, which caters to North Delhi, the company has entered into arrangements, including long-term partnerships and strategic deployment of battery energy storage systems at Delhi’s Rohini area, allowing it to maintain reliable supply amid soaring temperatures.