Delhi's peak power demand may hit 6,600 MW this summer: BSES

Delhi's peak power demand may touch 6,600 MW this summer, surpassing last year's peak of 6,261 MW which is the highest ever recorded till date.

The peak power demand in the city during the summer of 2017 is expected to touch around 6,500-6.600 MW. Last summer, it was 6,261 MW, highest ever-recorded in the national capital, said a spokesperson of power distributor BSES.

The BSES discoms BRPL and BYPL have firmed up arrangements to source adequate power to meet the peak power demand to serve over 38.8 lakh consumers during the ensuing summer months, he said.

The peak power demand in South and West Delhi, covered by BRPL, that had reached 2,669 MW during summer last year, is expected to touch around 2,800 MW this year.
 

The peak demand in East and Central Delhi covered by BYPL, is also expected to rise from 1,493 MW last year to around 1,600 MW.

Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), supplying to parts of north and northwest Delhi, has also estimated a peak electricity demand of about 1,900 MW in coming summer.

With summer expected to be harsh this time, peak demand is expected to be 1,900 MW, which was 1,791 MW last year, said a TPDDL spokesperson.

The discom will ensure uninterrupted power supply by receiving 200 MW in summer from states who were supplied power by it during winters of 2016, he said.

"As the Meteorological department has forecast an extremely hot summer this time, we are expecting the peak power demand to reach 1,900 MW in our area. The demand will be met through long-term tie-ups amounting to around 2,000 MW and other suitable arrangements," said Praveer Sinha, CEO and MD of TPDDL.

BSES too has made arrangements including long power purchasing agreements (PPAs) and banking arrangements with other states besides strengthening distribution network for ensuring uninterrupted supply to its consumers.

BRPL will be getting around 200 MW of power through banking arrangements and BYPL around 170 MW. During contingencies arising due to low generation and outages of power plants, the discoms will obtain short-term power from the exchange, said its spokesperson.

The distribution network is also being spruced up by preventive maintenance, load balancing of substations and thermo scanning of distribution transformers, he added.