Taking steps to meet high energy demand: Centre

New Delhi, June 18

The Power Ministry on Tuesday said it has asked all utilities “to maintain a high state of alert and minimise forced outages of equipment” amid heatwave pushing electricity demand, especially in the northern region where Monsoon is yet to arrive.

The country’s northern region has been experiencing high electricity demand due to a prevailing heatwave since May 17, the ministry said in a statement.

Despite these challenging conditions, the ministry said the highest ever peak demand of 89 GW in the northern region was successfully met on June 17, 2024. It was made possible by importing 25-30 per cent of the region’s power requirement from neighbouring regions, it said.

“All utilities have been advised to maintain a high state of alert and minimise forced outages of equipment,” the statement said.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, heatwave conditions in North-West India are expected to abate from June 20.

In response to the increased electricity demand and to ensure adequate power availability across the country, the Ministry of Power has implemented a series of measures to meet the highest ever peak demand of 250 GW during the ongoing summer season. The ministry has estimated that peak demand can touch a level of 260 GW during this season.

These measures include directions issued under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003, for ICB (imported coal based) plants to continue the generation support during the high demand period. The ministry has instructed power generating units to have minimum planned maintenance during this period.

Efforts are being made to minimise partial and forced outages to maximise the availability of generation capacity, it stated, adding plants under long-term outage have been sensitised to revive their units to ensure maximum power generation.

All generating companies have been advised to keep their plants in healthy condition to ensure full capacity availability for optimal operation of various generation sources, it stated. About the coal stock maintenance, it stated that adequate coal stocks were being maintained at coal-based thermal stations.