Heatwave: Power demand in North India at record high

The demand for electricity in India’s northern region scaled its highest-ever peak of 89 GW amid the scorching heat wave on Monday, 17 June, the ministry of power said on Tuesday, 18 June.

'The Northern Region of India has been experiencing high demand conditions due to a prevailing heat wave since May 17 this year. Despite these challenging conditions, the highest ever peak demand of 89 GW in the Northern Region was successfully met on June 17,' said a power ministry statement.

This achievement was made possible by importing 25–30 per cent of the region's power requirement from neighbouring regions.

All utilities have been advised to maintain a high state of alert and minimise forced outages of equipment, the official statement added.

In response to the increased demand and to ensure adequate power availability across the country, the ministry of power said it has implemented a series of measures to meet the highest-ever peak demand of 250 GW during this ongoing summer season.

As part of the measures, directions have been issued for imported coal-based plants to continue generation support during the high-demand period. Minimum planned maintenance of generating units has been scheduled during this period to keep up the high level of power generation.

All power-generating companies (GENCOs) have been advised to keep their plants in healthy condition to ensure full capacity availability for optimal operation of various generation sources.

Adequate coal stocks are being maintained at coal-based thermal stations.

Hydropower stations have been advised to conserve water during solar hours and dispatch maximum generation during non-solar hours to ensure power adequacy at all times.

Gas-based power plants have been directed to provide grid support.

Additionally, around 860 MW of additional gas-based capacity (non-NTPC) has been tied up through competitive bidding specifically for this summer.

Furthermore, approximately 5,000 MW of NTPC gas-based capacity has been instructed to be ready for immediate operation as per system requirements, the statement added.

Any un-requisitioned or surplus power available with generating stations is to be offered in the market. States can also tie up with other states having surplus capacity via the PUShP portal.

According to the IMD forecast, heatwave conditions in North-West India are expected to abate from 20 June.