After pandemic-hit 2020, Delhi sees rise in power demand in new year

Electricity demand in Delhi is picking up in the new year, recovering from the coronavirus pandemic-hit 2020, with January registering 19 per cent more peaks on 23 days than that in the last year, officials of power distribution companies said on Monday.

Delhis peak power demand was 3,504 MW (megawatt) on December 1, 2020. Since then, it has increased by over 50 per cent, said a BSES spokesperson.

“In January 2021, Delhis peak power demand on 23 days surpassed the peak power demand on corresponding days of January 2020 by up to 19 per cent,” he said.

However, Delhis peak power demand in January 2021 at 5,265 MW, was a shade less than the peak power demand of 5,343 MW in January 2020, he added.

In the winters, Delhis peak power demand crossed 4,000 MW for the first time on December 16,2020 and 5,000 MW on January 1, 2021, he said.

The trend was replicated in the areas of BSES discoms — BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Limited(BYPL).

“The peak power demand in BRPLs areas of South and West Delhi clocked its winter high of 2,091 MW. Last year, it was 2,020 MW. On the other hand, in BYPL areas of East and Central Delhi, the peak power demand, which had clocked 1,165 MW last winter, was 1,107 MW this year,” the BSES spokesperson said.

Ensuring reliable supply in any season is as much the function of proper power arrangements as also accurate demand forecast and robust distribution network, he said.

On all these aspects, BSES discoms are “fully geared” to ensure adequate power availability in the coming months, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)