Power consumption in State reaches a new peak this summer

A senior Tangedco official attributed the increase in power demand to the high usage of air conditioners by the domestic consumers due to sweltering heat. “The power usage has also gone up because of the election campaign across the State,”the official said.

On Thursday, the State’s power consumption was at 363.44 MU, while it was at 363.119 MU on Wednesday.

As per the data from the Regional Meteorological Department, Chennai, the districts across the state have recorded higher temperature than normal in the past 24 hours on Friday. Chennai has recorded a maximum of 37.4 degree Celsius, while the mercury has crossed 40 degree Celsius at a few districts including Dharmapuri, Salem, Vellore and Karur.

“The agricultural load has also gone up. We are supplying three phase power for agricultural pump sets. As most parts of the southern districts and delta regions received good rainfall last year, the farmers are using the pump sets to draw groundwater for irrigation,” said the official.

On April 3, the peak power demand crossed the 16,000 MW mark for the first time. The all-time high peak demand met by Tangedco was 16,151 MW, bettering the previous high of 15,847 MW on March 11 this year. Since the beginning of this month, power demand has been hovering over 15,500 MW and it crossed 16,000 MW mark thrice. At 7.05 pm on Friday, the power demand again soaredto 16,050 MW.

A Tangedco official said they expect that the power consumption might cross 370 MU by the end of the month. “We will be able to meet the increased power demand with the available power sources. From May, we will start getting wind power as well,” the official noted.