Record temperature jacks up electricity demand

With the northern states reeling under the 44-46 degrees Celsius bracket, demand for electricity has soared to a record high. On Wednesday, the country recorded a cumulative power demand of 1,70,121 MW during the month and this is close to 8 per cent higher than last year. Northern and western states had the highest power demand with UP sourcing 19,082 MW, Delhi 6,029 MW, Rajasthan 10,395 MW, Gujarat 16,825 MW, and Maharashtra 23,609 MW. Other than states like J&K, Assam and Uttrakhand, none of the states faced any shortage in power. For Delhi, touching 6,000 MW is a record of sorts. In order to meet the stipulated demand, power distribution companies (discoms) in Delhi have tied up for power purchase agreements (PPAs) with various states. Reliance Infra’s BSES, for instance, has signed long-term PPAs with Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim as well as hydro power banking arrangement with Bhutan. The other discom – Tata PowerDDL – had exported power up to 300 MW to Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh during the winter of 2017-18 under banking arrangements. The same power will now have to be returned by these states to Tata Power-DDL during the summer of 2018, said the company. According to the latest load generation balancing report of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), power supply during this fiscal year is expected to be surplus by 8.8 per cent in energy terms and in peak terms by 6.8 per cent. Peak demand is likely to be around 169 GW. Now that the demand is increasing, lack of long-term PPAs could be a sore point. But most Demand met (In Mw) All-India 170,121 states are meeting the peak demand (power demand over and above the nominal demand) in the short-term. As the temperatures soared during the week, spot power prices increased to Rs 11/unit, averaging around Rs 5/unit. Power trading platform India Energy Exchange (IEX) witnessed record high shortterm power trading of 190 million units on Tuesday. The agency expects it to continue during the summer period. At the same time, coal inventory at power plants is at a low of 12 days. The share of hydro power in the total energy mix has been coming down every year. Hydro generation in May stands at 365 MUs currently, which is slightly higher than last year. In 2017, the highest hydro power generation was 550 MUs in July, which is expected to be lower during the current monsoon months. Most of the states would take the short-term route to procure power leading to a spike in prices, said a power market expert, adding that states continue to be unwilling to sign long-term PPAs. The abysmal state of most thermal plants has added to their woes.