Nip in air brings city power demand down by 20 pc

CHENNAI: With chill weather prevailing, Chennai’s power demand has come down by nearly 20 per cent and stood at 2,141 MW on Wednesday noon. Chennai has been witnessing a spell of below-normal temperature the past week with the temperature falling by five degrees Celsius due to low-pressure area forming over the coast of north Tamil Nadu on the Bay of Bengal.

“The cooler weather condition prevailing in the city has brought down power demand by nearly 20 per cent to 2,300-2,400 MW. Due to the nippy weather, the usage of air conditioners might be less leading to less power demand,” Tangedco sources said.

Sources said during the monsoon, the city’s demand would range between 2,500 MW and 2,700 MW. On November 22, the city’s peak demand was 2,465 MW while it stood at 2,346 MW the day before. The power demand came down to as much as 2,013 MW on Sunday when most of the offices would be closed. The city’s all-time high peak demand stood at 3,763 MW on June 14, this year.

Tangedco sources said the power demand in the rest of the State was normal considering not much rain was recorded in the districts.

According to the Met department, the development of the low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal and its subsequent concentration into a depression and movement towards TN coast resulted in the drawing of cold winds from the northern parts towards the southern region. “Gusty winds with speed reaching 35-40 km per hour were recorded over Chennai from Nov 19 to 21. Thus, the combined effect of cold air from the north, strong gusty winds and cloudy conditions resulted in the occurrence of appreciably below normal temperatures,” IMD officials said.