City’s first: Power use in Chennai crosses 100 mn units; overuse of air-conditioners spikes energy demand by 35%

CHENNAI: With the air conditioner alone providing respite from the sweltering heat wave, Chennai's energy consumption has crossed the 100 million units mark for the first time to the record 101.76 MU on Friday.

According to the TANGEDCO officials, the city's energy consumption has bettered the previous high of 97.53 MU on Thursday. Chennai's peak power demand also touched an all-time high of 4,769 MW on Friday bettering the previous record of 4,648 MW on Thursday.

The power demand and energy consumption have been on the rise in the city with the temperature continuously remaining over 40 degrees Celcius since May 27. After a short break from the heatwave with mild showers in May, the temperature started rising again in the city and its neighbourhood, increasing the power demand.

The power demand which touched a low of 3519 MW on May 17 has increased to the record level of 4,769 MW, a rise of 35 per cent.

A senior TANGEDCO official said that the city's energy consumption hit a century thanks to unrelenting heatwaves forcing people to use the ACs during the daytime.

"Normally, the residential AC usage would be during the night time. Due to excessive heat, people use the AC even during the day. This is driving the energy consumption up, " the official said.

Meanwhile, TANGEDCO CMD (in charge) Pradeep Yadav held a review meeting through video conference to ensure an uninterrupted power supply on Saturday.

To address these challenges, Tangedco has deployed 60 special task forces in Chennai to redress complaints and swiftly rectify power issues at night.

Yadav directed the Superintendent Engineers to review the localities facing frequent power outages and find a permanent solution.

Also directed the field officials to send SMS notifications on planned maintenance work shutdowns.