Power demand peaks in South
THE COVID-19 pandemic had affected work on generation, transmission and other projects, affecting finances of the power sector.
The southern region witnessed an all-time demand of 60,876 MW power, 30 per cent of installed capacity in the country, and 27 per cent of the total energy consumption. The installed capacity of the southern region had increased from 1,15,165 MW to
1,18,313 MW during FY
2021-22.
Speaking at the southern region power committee (SRPC) meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday, its chairperson D. Prabhakar Rao, CMD of TS Genco and Transco, said when the nation was facing power crisis, the southern states were able to meet its all-time peak demand in April.
Despite facing many constraints, all constituents of southern region met their respective peak demands — Tamil Nadu 17,563 MW, Karnataka 14,818MW, Telangana 14,160 MW, Andhra Pradesh 12,293 MW, Kerala 4,385 MW and Puducherry 467 MW — in different months of 202122, he explained. Prabhakar Rao said the
Covid-19 pandemic had affected work on generation, transmission and distribution projects, adversely affecting finances of the power sector. Despite this, the installed capacity of southern region was increased by 3,148 MW during last financial year, he said.
Simultaneously, the transmission network in the southern region had been strengthened for effective distribution of power and 400 KV lines of 1,862 circuit kilometres were commissioned, he said. “There is an urgent need for adopting the latest automation techniques in load-generation balance for effective economic operations and to avoid any possible human errors. Bringing in newer technologies, process automation, innovation and creativity are essential for foolproof grid stability,” he said.
SRPC member secretary Asit Singh, representatives from the southern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry and directors of TS Transco T. Jagath Reddy, B. Narsing Rao, TS Genco directors B. Lakshmaiah, chief engineer P. Ratnakar Rao, superintending engineers P. Suresh Babu, Ega Hanuman and R. Srinivasa Rao participated in the SRPC meeting.