Power demand touches 4,000 MW
MUMBAI: The peak demand for electricity in Mumbai on Tuesday, when the maximum temperature crossed 38 degrees Celsius, shot up to over 4,000 megawatts (MW), surpassing the usual demand of 3,400-3,600 MW for the first time this summer. On Monday, the city’s power demand was 3,973 MW.
According to data, Mumbai’s power demand spiked to 4,041 MW around 3.00pm. Power distribution companies attributed the sharp spike in day temperatures to the heatwave, leading to an increase in power demand.
The city has nearly 50 lakh power consumers who are serviced by BEST undertaking, Adani Electricity, Tata Power and MSEDCL.
Officials from Tata Power said demand touched 1,005 MW from its 7.5 lakh consumers spread across the city and suburbs. Notably, from April 1, Tata Power hiked tariffs by 22-24%, and the hike was steepest for those consuming up to 300 units of electricity a month.
Electricity drawn by 10.5 lakh BEST consumers in the island city touched nearly 880-900 MW, compared to 730-750 MW on a usual summer day, while peak demand from Adani Electricity consumers touched 2,070 MW. “We leverage cutting-edge technology for forecasting power demand, enabling strategic power purchase arrangements that ensure reliable supply. This commitment to innovation was evident as we seamlessly met today’s peak demand,” said an official from Adani Electricity.
Power experts claimed that the cost of electricity in the open market was touching ₹8-10 per unit depending on the time of day, compared to ₹2-4 per unit under normal circumstances. “The demand for power over the next few days can exceed 4,200 MW in Mumbai alone,” said a power expert.
On Tuesday, demand across the state shot up to 24,234 MW, but officials from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company said that they did not resort to any load shedding.
Thermal power plants located in Trombay and Dahanu – owned by Tata Power and Adani Electricity, respectively –supply around 1,430 MW to Mumbai. Some power is generated renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydro power, while the rest is purchased from the open market to meet the demand. Sources said MSEDCL purchased around 10,000 MW from the exchange at prevailing market rates.
Given the sudden 7% rise in peak power demand across the country this season over last summer, the Centre has allowed 15 thermal power plants to continue use of imported coal till mid-october to ensure uninterrupted supply.