Peak power demand crosses 18,000 MW mark in March itself this year

CHENNAI: Even before the commencement of the summer, the state’s peak power demand crossed the 18,000 MW mark for the first time on Thursday when it clocked 18,047 MW. “For the first time, the power demand has peaked at over 18,000 MW. The power demand was met without any outages. The all-time high peak demand before this was 17,749 MW on March 15,” Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji wrote in a tweet.

In March alone, the record for the peak power demand was breached five times. The all-time high power demand of 17,563 MW recorded on April 29, 2022, was bettered with the demand of 17,584 MW on March 4 this year. Again, the power demand surged to 17,647 MW on March 10 and 17,705 MW on March 14.

A senior official of Tangedco said that they expected the power demand to touch 18,100 MW at the end of March. “Due to supply of the three-phase power to the agricultural consumers during the day time, the peak power demand has breached 18,000 MW by mid-March,” the official said, adding that the addition of 1.5 lakh agricultural connections in the last two years was also a factor.

Besides, the industrial power demand also increased post-COVID. “The IT employees who were working from home are back to their offices. So the office air conditioner loads have increased,” the official noted.

As the peak summer begins in April, the official said that they expected the power demand to touch 18,500-18,800 MW. “We may have to revise the demand forecast after seeing actual demand at the end of this month,” the official said, adding the power demand has come down on Friday following overnight rains. Activist S Neelakantapillai said that the actual power demand would be much higher if there was no restriction on three-phase power supply in the rural areas. “Without segregating agricultural feeders, the three-phase power was supplied to the rural areas for 12 hours a day and no supply during morning and evening peak hours. The restriction also severely impacts the rural industries,” he said