New Delhi: Breaking all previous records,
the power demand in the city on Tuesday touched an all-time high of
5,028 mega watt, resulting in power cuts in several areas due
to mismatch in demand and supply.
The previous highest power requirement in the city was
recorded on June 24 when the demand touched 4,994 MW.
As the temperature hovered over 38 degrees Celsius,
several areas in south, north, east and west Delhi reeled
under outages ranging half-an-hour to two hours.
"The maximum peak demand in the city shot up to 5,028
MW at 03:07 PM which is a new record of power consumption in
the city," a power department official said.
Although several areas faced power cuts, officials of
discoms as well as Delhi Transco Ltd, which maintains the
transmission network, said there was no shortage of power in
the city.
"Though the power companies have made adequate
arrangements of power, Delhi Transco appeal to the public to
conserve electricity and use electrical appliances
judiciously," said DTL public relations officer Rishi Raj.
The power demand in the city has been increasing
gradually in the last few years.
As per official figure, the power demand in the city in
the year 1905 was just two mega watt which had increased to 27
mega watt in the year 1947. The peak demand had touched 1,536
MW in 1992 while in 1997 it increased to 2,303 MW and further
to 2,879 MW in 2001.
In 2002, the demand had gone up to 3,097 MW while in
2007, it touched 4,030 MW. In 2009, the demand went up to
4,408 while in 2010, it touched 4,720 MW.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday reviewed
the power situation in the city with Power Minister Harun
Yusuf and top officials, and asked them to explore possibility
of setting up power plants in states like Chhattisgarh having
coal blocks.
As per projection by Central Electricity Authority, the
power demand in Delhi will jump to 8,700 MW by the year 2017.
The city government plans to increase its own generation
to 4,100 MW in the next five years.
Currently, Delhi's power demand ranges from 4,100 MW to
4,900 MW, depending on the weather condition.
The city gets 2,400 MW from central quota, while nearly
1,000 MW is produced by Delhi's own electricity generating
stations.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, August 02, 2011, 23:58