Peak power demand touches all-time high of 223.23 GW on June 9

New Delhi: Peak power demand met or the highest supply of electricity touched an all-time high of 223.23 GW on June 9, showing the waning impact of unseasonal rains on consumption, government data showed.

The power ministry had estimated that the peak power demand will easily touch 229 GW during this summer in April only. The unseasonal rains affected the demand and brought down temperature during summer, resulting in fewer use of cooling appliances like air conditioners which guzzle electricity, experts say.

Taking proactive measures, the power ministry had asked well in advance all imported coal-based power plants to run at full capacity from March 16, 2023 to June 15, 2023, to meet any unprecedented rise in demand and consumption of electricity in the country.

Besides, the ministry had asked the domestic coal-based thermal power plants to import coal for blending to avoid any shortfall of the dry fuel.

The government data shows that peak power demand met was 215.97GW in April and 221.34GW in May this year. The shortfall was just 170MW in April and 23 MW in May.

The experts said that the shortfall is miniscule which may be caused due to technical reasons.

The consumption of power dipped in March and remained almost flat in April this year. It again dipped in May, showing the impact of unseasonal rains in the country.

Power consumption dipped to 126.82 billion units (BU) in March this year from 128.47 BU in the same month a year ago. It was almost flat at 132.15 BU in April 2023 compared to 132.02 BU in the same month last year.

Consumption of power again dipped to 134.20 BU in May 2023 from 135.15 BU in the same month a year ago. Experts say power consumption growth may remain subdued in June due to rains.