Power consumption shoots up in Krishna district

Power consumption is on the rise in Krishna district with the temperatures rising steadily. It touched 16.6 million units (MU) on Monday as against the usual consumption of 14 MU per day. The total demand touched 773 MW on Monday, it was 749 MW on the corresponding day last year.

While the monthly power load (or demand) in January and February was 650 MW, the same touched 760 MW in March. The SPDCL authorities are expecting that the demand will cross 850 MW by May.

Power consumption had gone up in March itself. From 14.167 MU on April 1, the consumption steadily increased to 16.461 MU on April 23.

In the city alone, the 5 MU is consumed every day. On an average, 14 to 15 MU is consumed every day in the district. In fact, the consumption is high in Gudivada, Machilipatnam and Vuyyuru divisions compared to their daily quota. The cumulative consumption of these divisions was 119.411 MU, while the quota was 103.126 MU. In the city, overall power demand has increased by 30 %.

Peak hours

The usage of air-conditioners, air coolers and refrigerators has increased manifold. The maximum demand is observed during 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and again after 10 p.m. The consumption used to be 11 MU to 11.5 MU per day during summer six years ago. The SPDCL officials are expecting that the consumption will be 17 MU to 18 MU per day this season.

APSPDCL Superintending Engineer N. Venkateswarlu says, “There is no problem to supply power 24x7 in the city and other parts of the district this summer. Plans have been drawn up to meet the growing demand. Also, the power generation is fairly sufficient. There will not be any power cuts,” he says.

The SPDCL caters to the needs of as many as 15, 54, 883 consumers in the district with Vijayawada alone accounting for 3,03,018. The SPDCL Vijayawada comprises Gudivada, Gunadala, Machilipatnam, Nuzvid, Vijayawada Rural, Vijayawada Town and Vuyyuru divisions.