Winter power demand in Delhi past pre-pandemic high

NEW DELHI: At 5,526MW in the morning hours, the winter power demand in the national capital broke all records on Friday. According to State Load Despatch Centre, Delhi, the peak power demand was recorded at 10.58am.
This is the third day in a row when Delhi's peak power demand crossed the 5,000MW mark, said a discom official. The previous peak demand in the winter was 5,343MW in the pre-pandemic 2019-20. A senior discom official said that besides commercial establishments, offices and malls being back in the business, the sudden dip in temperatures had increased use of heaters and geysers. With Delhi expected to experience low temperatures over the next few days, the power demand can go up further, he added.
A BSES official said green power had been helping the discom meet Delhi's power demand. "The backbone of BSES' power supply arrangements during the winter includes long-term agreements with power plants, including hydro and Delhi-based gas-fuelled generating stations," he pointed out.
"To meet today's power challenges, BSES used a mix of advanced statistical forecasting models using complex algorithms, combined with state-of-the-art weather forecasting solutions, including artificial intelligence and machine learning," he added.
Delhi broke several power consumption records in 2022 after the Covid restrictions were lifted to a great extent after two years and businesses resumed regular operations. The peak demand in December was 4,964MW against 4,685MW in 2021 and 4,671MW in 2020. In November, the demands were 3,941MW in 2022, 3,831MW in 2021, and 3,769 in 2020.
Delhiites consumed half the power during the two Covid waves than it consumed during the same time in 2022, when restrictions were not there, the data of the discoms reveals. The data also suggests that compared with 2020 and 2021, the full pandemic years, the power consumption was higher in both 2019 and 2022.