To manage winter pick power demand which is expected to reach up to 4,700 MW power discoms BRPL and BYPL have introduced advanced techniques and avenues like banking, reserve shutdown, power exchange and ensuring sufficient spinning reserves to dispose of surplus power as well as ensuring reliable power supply.
A senior BSES official said that the backbone of BSES’ power-supply arrangements during the winter-months includes long-term agreements from power-plants like Dadri, hydro stations; Singrauli, Rihand, Sasan, DVC Mejia and Delhi based gas fueled generating stations. Additionally, BSES is also receiving 50 MW of wind power and 20 MW of solar power from SECI.
In case of any unforeseeable contingency, BSES discoms will buy short-term power from the exchange which is available at economical rates and can range between (around) Rs 1 to over Rs 4 per unit - during winter months, depending on the time-slot, he said.
Delhi’s peak power demand this winter can go up to 4700 MW. Last year, it was 4472MW. The peak winter power demand in BRPL and BYPL areas had reached 1926 MW and 1091 MW respectively during last winter. This year, it is expected to reach 2020 MW and 1165 MW for BRPL and BYPL respectively. BSES discoms will also bank surplus power with hilly states, which need additional power during the winter months and returned the power back in summer month.
“To meet today’s power challenges and to get a grip on so many varied and dynamic variables, BSES uses a mix of advanced statistical forecasting models, combined with state-of-the-art weather forecasting solutions including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning,” the spokesperson said.