With the mercury rising in the national capital, the peak power demand shot up to 6,361 MW this afternoon, the highest ever recorded in the city.
This is also the highest peak power demand in any city of the country. The previous record of 6,261 megawatt (MW) on July 1 last year is also held by Delhi.
According to the power department figures, the peak power demand was 6361 MW at 3:06 PM. This is 12 percent more than the peak power demand of 5,673 MW recorded on the same day last year.
Yesterday, as the maximum temperature soared up to 44.6 degrees Celsius, four degrees above the normal, the peak power demand was 5,775 MW at 11:06 PM.
The peak power demand in the capital this year, breached the 6,000 MW mark in May at 6,021 MW, second highest this year on May 17. The power discoms have expected the peak demand this year to be around 6,600 MW.
The hot summer months this year have pushed the peak power demands to set new records, with April registering the highest ever demand for the month at 5,685 MW which was 18 percent more than the peak power demand of 4,797 MW in the same month last year, an official of discom BSES said.
In March, the peak power demand in the city crossed the 4,000 MW mark for the first time ever, he said.
The peak demand of Delhi, even at the 6,000 MW level is three-fold of Kolkata(2,100 MW) and about 60 percent more than that of Mumbai(3,700 MW).
While it is four times that of Chennai and Himachal Pradesh, it is two and half times more than that of the entire northeastern states in the country, the BSES official said.
The power distribution company 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 during the peak summer, he said.
