As Delhi witnessed 52 degree Celsius on Wednesday, pushed its peak power demand to an all-time high of 8,302 MW on Wednesday afternoon. It is the first time in the history of the national capital that its power demand has crossed the 8,300-MW mark. Power distribution companies had estimated the power demand to peak at 8,200 MW this summer, the discom officials said.

According to the State Load Dispatch Centre, Delhi, the peak power demand of the city was 8,302 MW at 15:36:32 hours. The previous peak power demand was recorded earlier this month, when it touched 8,000 MW on May 22.

The city has been braving a prolonged spell of heatwave conditions with the maximum day temperatures in many parts including Najafgarh, Mungeshpur and Narela touching almost 50 degrees Celsius. Moreover, 12 days in a row Delhi’s peak power demand has crossed 7000 MW this year.  Before the records of 2024, Delhi’s previous high of 7695 MW was recorded on June 29, 2022. Delhi’s peak power demand last year was 7438 MW.

Data shows barring last year, when Delhi’s demand peaked on August, it usually peaks during end June and early July. The power demand can be attributed to weather conditions that led residents to use more air conditioning / coolers, leading to an increase in electricity consumption. It is interesting to know you know, air conditioning can contribute to 30-50% of a household’s or company’s yearly energy expense.

The fact that the Delhi’s power distribution network has been able to sustain this prolonged high demand for power shows its robustness.  BRPL and BYPL successfully met the peak power demand in their respective areas.

During the year, BSES discoms invested substantial resources to strengthen the network and undertook several unique measures to ensure reliable power supply during the summer months. Apart from preventive maintenance, BSES has also done extensive predictive checks to identify hot-spots or to pre-determine potential faults and to take remedial measures.

This is done through thermal scanning, partial discharge measurement, and health assessment of power and distribution transformers. Online load monitoring system is also in place for tracking the power transformers and 11kV feeder load especially during the summers.

Elaborating on the topic, a Tata Power-DDL Spokesperson said, “The persistent heat wave across North India is leading to a sharp demand surge for electricity in the National Capital. The peak power demand in Delhi hit a new record of 8302 MW (as per SLDC). At Tata Power-DDL’s end, we successfully met our highest-ever peak power demand of 2339 MW and have made sufficient arrangements to meet the demand.”