Heatwave: Delhi's Power Demand Hits Record High For 2nd Consecutive Day, Several Tripping Incidents Across North India

According to State Load Dispatch Centre's real-time data, the peak power demand reached 8656 MW at 15:06:55 hrs on Wednesday.

Amid heatwave, Delhi's power demand hit another record high for 2nd day in a row.

Source : PTI

Delhi on Wednesday recorded an all-time high level of 8,656 Megawatt power demand, surpassing yesterday's demand record of 8,647 MW. With the national capital facing the relentless heatwave conditions for several weeks now, the demand for power peaked following massive consumption of electricity amidst the intense heat.

Today's power consumption record surpassed yesterday's record by nine MW, becoming the highest power consumption record this summer season, news agency PTI reported citing discom officials.

According to State Load Dispatch Centre's real time data, the peak power demand reached 8656 MW at 15:06:55 hrs on Wednesday.

This comes as Delhi experienced the warmest night ever in past 12 years on June 18. The minimum temperature settled over eight notches above the season's normal at 35.2 degrees Celsius, the weather office stated.

The maximum temperature of the day is expected to be around 44 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the highest-ever power demand of 8,302 MW was recorded in Delhi on May 29.

Multiple-Tripping Incidents In Northern Region Amidst Increased Power Demand

Amidst the scorching heatwave conditions, multiple-tripping incidents were reported in the northern region on June 17, as power demand reached 89.4 gigawatt (GW), causing a supply gap of 16.5 GW, PTI reported citing a Northern Regional  Load  Despatch Centre (NRLDC) report.

Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and J&K were the affected states, the report said.

NRLDC is a part of the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) comes under the Union Ministry of Power and is responsible for the dispatch and scheduling of electricity over the inter-regional links.

NRLDC stated that at 13:53 hours, the northern region demand experienced a reduction in load of the order of 16.5 GW.

"The incident occurred immediately after the tripping of both bipoles of +/-800 kV HVDC Champa (WR) - Kurukshetra (NR) which was carrying 4,500 MW from the Western Region to the Northern Region. Low voltages were observed across the northern region and the above load reduction happened after tripping of the HVDC link," the NRLDC stated.

Due to the reported tripping of five 765 kV lines, a partial outage of the 765/400kV Aligarh (PGCIL) station took place. Prior to this, the a demand of 89,410 MW and net import of NR was 15,500 MW was being catered.

Loads were gradually restored considering low voltages and high loading on 765 KV Agra-Gwalior lines. System load was restored to near normal level by 14.30 hours. All the transmission elements which tripped were restored by 16:00 hours.

In the Northern Region, hydro generating units tripped at various places including Karcham, Bhakra, Sainj, and Ranjit Sagar Dam (Total-1,237 MW). Meanwhile, thermal generating units also tripped at Rajwest, Lalitpur, Unchahar, and Panipat (Total-1,250 MW).

All India Power Engineers Federation Urges Centre To Take Action

Reacting to the incident, All India Power Engineers Federation's Chairman, Shailendra Dubey, urged the Centre to undertake necessary steps immediately.

"AIPEF requests the Centre to declare the present heat wave as a natural calamity like floods and cyclones etc and take measures in short and mid-term to tackle the situation," Dubey said.

AIPEF, in its letter, suggested that the office timings should be changed to 7 AM to 2 PM, adding that all commercial establishments should be closed maximum by 7 PM. The letter also stated that there should a peak load restrictions on the industry, PTI reported.

Power Demand In Punjab Reaches All-Time High Of 16,078 MW

The power demand in Punjab reached 15,900 MW on Tuesday. However, it touched an all-time high mark of 16,078 MW on Wednesday afternoon, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) sources told news agency PTI.

On June 23 last year, the state witnessed an all-time high power demand of 15,325 MW. The scorching heat and lack of rainfall have increased the demand for electricity in Punjab. Besides, the power demand has also gone up due to the paddy sowing season.

"If rainfall does not take place in the coming days, then power cuts will have to be imposed in the state," PTI reported citing sources.

Meanwhile, Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) Engineers' Association president Jasvir Dhiman stated that the state recorded its highest-ever peak demand even before the full paddy load is yet to begin.