POWER DEMAND CAN GO UP TO 4,800MW THIS WINTER: DISCOMS

NEW DELHI: Predicting that the peak electricity demand in Delhi could shoot up to 4,800MW in the coming months, power distribution companies on Thursday said they are “fully geared” for the winter.

Based on the data collated by them, power utilities said they are predicting the peak demand to increase by nearly 230MW this season. Last year, it had peaked at 4,511MW.

In 2016-17, the winter demand had touched 4,186MW, while in 2015-16, it was 4,125MW, a BSES spokesperson said.

The highest demand this year is being expected from south and west Delhi areas. BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), which supplies power to these areas said it is expecting to meet a maximum demand of 1,950MW from these pockets. BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) caters to east and central Delhi and is expecting a demand of 1,225 MW, while Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), in north and northwest areas, said it is forecasting a peak of up to 1,500 MW.

Discom TPDDL said it has entered into power banking arrangements with different states, including Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

“Under the arrangement, Tata Power-ddl exports power to these states during off-peak winter months and the same is imported during the summer months from May to September. The arrangement ensures nonstop supply to consumers,” Sanjay Banga, CEO, TPDDL, said.

The BSES discoms said they, too, have made arrangements for reliable supply during winter. “To meet today’s power challenges and to get a grip on so many varied and dynamic variables, BSES uses a mix of advanced statistical forecasting models, combined with state-of-the-art weather forecasting solutions, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and rich domain expertise provided by IMD-POSCO. These help the discoms build advanced models, which lead to higher accuracy planning and a huge saving of man-hours and time,” a spokesperson said.