Power demand soars by 26% in Punjab with rise in temperature
Following a sudden temperature rise, Punjab saw a 26% to 31% jump in power consumption in the first 10 days of April
Patiala : Following a sudden temperature rise, Punjab saw a 26% to 31% jump in power consumption in the first 10 days of April.
With the Indian Meteorological Department (MeT) predicting a hot summer, power consumption is likely to rise further in the coming days.
Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPCL) data revealed that the consumption, during the first week of April, increased by nearly 26%, when compared with last year’s data on power consumption.
As per the PSPCL data, the power consumption in the state was 138 million units (MU) on April 1. Within a few days, electricity consumption rose to 155 MU on April 9. Last year, on the corresponding day, the consumption was 123 MU.
As per the IMD, Punjab’s maximum temperatures have already seen an uptick over the past few days and have already gone past 36 degrees Celsius. Faridkot was the hottest in the state on Wednesday with a maximum temperature of 38.4 degrees Celsius.
Chandigarh MeT director AK Singh said, “Maximum temperature in Punjab will rise further in the coming weeks and may touch 40 degrees Celsius by the end of this month. There is a possibility of heatwave conditions in the last few days of April which will be unusual.”
The peak demand in the state has already touched nearly 7800 megawatts (MW) in April, this year. Data reveals that the maximum demand on April 5 (Friday) was 7748 MW, which is 30% higher than the peak demand on April 5, last year.
“There has been a significant rise in the power consumption in the state. During the first nine days of April, PSPCL supplied sufficient power to meet this enhanced consumption and also sold about 48 MUs of power in exchange for about ₹38 crore at the rate of ₹7.5 per unit,” said a top functionary of PSPCL.
The above-quoted official further said that there was sufficient coal availability in all the thermal power plants (TPPs), therefore, PSPCL would be able to meet any further surge in power demand in the coming days.
There are five thermal plants in the state at Rajpura, Talwandi Sabo, Ropar, Lehra Mohabbat and Goindwal.
