Power demand crosses 10K MW

Aman Sood

Patiala, March 24

Even as ACs are yet to become fully functional and the peak summer power demand during paddy still a couple of months away, the power demand in the state has already touched 10,000 MW for the first time. The day temperature in the state has already crossed 30°C, which means the demand for power could increase further.

With more consumers applying for new connections to keep bills under 300 units a month, the use of fans and coolers has increased in parts of the state, leading to more consumption. Even vegetable crops needs water every day and the power corporation is ensuring supply to the fields, thus increasing the demand further.

A top PSPCL functionary told The Tribune that during the first three months of the year the maximum power demand surge was 10 per cent, so the maximum demand in the paddy season was likely to cross 16,000 MW. Last year in March, the maximum power demand recorded was 8,913 MW on March 8 and this year it was 10,058 MW on March 19. The power demand has been above 9,200 MW for the last few days.

Punjab’s power consumption grew by over 10 per cent to 4,352 million units (MU) in February as compared to 3,911 million units during the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the coal stock at Goindwal Sahib, which used to be for two or three days, now stands at 18 days. The coal stock at the Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat plants is for 38 and 23 days, respectively. At Talwandi Sabo and Rajpura thermal plants the coal stock is for 9 and 24 days, respectively. The power purchase last Tuesday through exchange was 403 lakh units at about Rs 3.85 per unit.