Delhi: This winter, power demand hits all-time high of 5,298 MW

New Delhi, Dec 31: The winter peak power demand of the national capital reached an all-time high of 5,298 Mega Watt (MW) on Monday morning, with a record-breaking, frigid cold gripping the city.

According to Delhi's State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) data, the peak demand was 5,298 MW at 10.26 am on Monday.

"Delhi's winter peak power demand reached an all-time high of 5,298 MW as compared to last year peak power demand of 4,472 MW," said a spokesperson of BSES discoms BYPL and BRPL.

The maximum temperature took a big tumble on Monday before settling at 9.4 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest December day in Delhi since 1901. It was also the coldest day in the national capital's winter since 1951.

The peak winter power demand in BRPL and BYPL areas had reached 1926 MW and 1,091 MW respectively during last winter, said the BSES spokesperson. "Today, it clocked all-time highs of 2,198 MW(BRPL) and 1,099 MW(BYPL), respectively," he said.

A Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited(TPDDL) spokesperson said that the distribution company met its highest-ever winter power demand of 1,541 MW successfully, as the city experienced the coldest December day in 118 years.

"TPDDL successfully met the record peak power demand of 1,541 MW without any network constraint and power outage as Delhi also touched a record high of 5,298 MW, highest till date," he said.

The previous highest winter demand was 1,433 MW in TPDDL areas in January 2019, he stated. The company is expecting the peak demand to breach 1,600 MW-mark this winter and has made long-term power tie-ups to ensure reliability of its equipment at these low temperatures and foggy conditions, he added. The BSES spokesperson said BRPL and BYPL are "fully geared" to ensure adequate power availability during the winter months.