Ahmedabad: More electricity being generated from wind energy sources have provided a cushion to the state government, which has been drawing more and more power from the open market to meet rising demand. Power demand in Gujarat reached 16,810MW at 3pm on Tuesday.With high wind velocities, power generated from wind energy sources crossed 3,000MW in the state for the last two days. Wind power generation at 7pm was 3,224MW on Monday and 3,118MW on Tuesday. Gujarat’s installed wind power capacity is 5,574MW.
More electricity from wind power has helped the state power utility, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL), which accounts for the majority of power sourced from the open market, to cut its dependence on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), where power prices have firmed up.
Gujarat procured 16.5 million units (Mus) of power from IEX on Monday, lower than the 18.7 Mus, 23.8 Mus and 34.6 Mus on Sunday, Saturday and Friday, respectively.
“Greater wind power generation has reduced power drawn from the exchange. This will give relief to consumers, as power from wind sources costs about Rs 3.76 per unit,” said K K Bajaj, a city-based regulatory and energy expert. Tariffs at the IEX had firmed up over the last eight days, ranging from Rs 4 to Rs 6.27 per unit, due to high demand.
With demand staying higher than 16,000MW as temperatures rise across the state, GUVNL has been partially meeting power requirements from its own generating stations, apart from procurement from the IEX.Meanwhile, private sector power distributor Torrent Power Limited (TPL) recorded its highest power demand of 2,310 MW at 4pm on Tuesday.