The daily consumption of electricity as recorded by the Meteorological Department reached 10.35 crore units on 17 April.
According to the Ministry of Energy, one of the reasons for the huge increase in electricity consumption is the increase in economic activities.
Many states of North India are facing heatwave for the last few days. The maximum temperature is touching 40 degree Celsius, and people are not able to survive without air conditioners and coolers. This has led to an increase in power demand across northern India including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Delhi. It has also resulted in large numbers and longer duration of power cuts. Electricity consumption has doubled in Delhi alone as compared to the last three months.
Power consumption has also increased due to increased use of power conditioners in metros and tier-2 cities. The daily consumption of electricity as recorded by the Meteorological Department reached 10.35 crore units on 17 April. According to the Ministry of Energy, one of the reasons for the huge increase in electricity consumption is the increase in economic activities. It increased by 9.5 per cent from 1.374 billion units in FY 2021-2022 to 1.503 billion units in FY 2022-2023. The Central Electricity Authority says that the highest electricity consumption in a day in 2022-2023 was 207.23 GW. Last year, the highest recorded usage was 200.53 GW.
The power ministry has estimated that the peak power consumption in a day this summer could touch 229 GW. Due to this, the Ministry has directed all coal based plants to work at full capacity.
Scorching heat and scorching sun have forced people to hide in their homes. With this, the power demand in Delhi has reached a record high of 7,144 MW. Private power distribution companies would be claiming that the UT is getting enough power. But due to power shortage and unscheduled power cuts have started.
The confusion of differences between power distribution companies and the ministry is creating uncertainty among people and they are unable to ascertain the rationale behind frequent power cuts. While the companies claim this may be due to local faults, the data suggests that power outages may be a plausible issue.
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