Summer blues: electricity demand reaches its peak

Mumbai: The state on Monday witnessed its highest power demand of 23,100 MW, which the government on Tuesday claimed to have fulfilled without any difficulty.

“The State government is capable of catering to the rising demands of electricity. Last year, the state witnessed load shedding for seven days due to shortage of coal. But we will not have any such problem this year. We are fully prepared to tackle the problem,” Power Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said.

Of the 23,100 MW, Mumbai registered a demand of 3100 MW. According to Reliance energy, which supplies electricity to Mumbai suburbs, the average power demand has been around 1400 MW, and it has estimated that the peak demand in its distribution area is likely to cross 1650 MW in April and May.

Tata Power and BEST are other two agencies that supply power. As per the BEST data, the average power demand of its customers is around 800MW and during summer season, it rises to 900MW.

When asked about the government’s intention to apply uniform power tariff in Mumbai, Mr. Bawankule said the proposal has not been finalised, and it will have to placed before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission for approval.

The minister said even though the demand has increased manifold, the state will not face load shedding. “There is no load shedding in residential, commercial and industrial areas. The eight-hour supply to farmers is because of strict regulations on use of water to avoid wastage,” Mr. Bawankule said.

The Maharashtra State Power Generation Co. Limited generates 6200 MW through thermal plants, 400 MW through gas plants, 1600 MW through Koyana project, and 122 MW through solar plants. The rest is generated either through independent power producers or through short-term power purchase agreements.