Rain brings relief for farmers, PSPCL officials as demand dips by 5,000 MW

Power demand is expected to stay on the higher side as paddy sowing in Punjab is almost nearing completion, with more tubewells required to water the fields. The state witnessed this year’s highest power demand of over 16,800 MW on Saturday, which then dipped to 10,900 MW within 24 hours on Sunday evening.Rain across Punjab has brought cheer to the farmers and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials with a sharp dip in power demand. Punjab's power demand surged past 16,800 MW on Saturday, despite it being a holiday for government offices and banks.Widespread rain across the state on Saturday night and Sunday morning offered much-needed relief as the demand dipped by over 5,000 MW. The power demand on an average has remained around 14,500 MW during this paddy season, with a sharp dip only during widespread rain.

“During the monsoon, the power demand usually goes high and low within hours, but the variation in the past 24 hours is phenomenal. From 16,800 MW to less than 10,900 MW means the expertise of the PSPCL engineers in managing load becomes crucial to ensure grid stability,” says former engineer VK Gupta.

On Saturday, the demand touched 16,818 MW at 3 pm, with the PSPCL drawing 10,548 MW from the northern grid. All four units of the Ranjit Sagar Dam were operational. State thermal plants contributed around 2,000 MW, private generators 2,959 MW, and hydro generation 950 MW, bringing Punjab’s internal generation to over 6,300 MW.

The maximum daily power supply so far this year was 3,510 LU on June 13, while the highest last year was 3,563 LU on June 26. The average daily supply this June has increased by 100 LU compared to last year.

Due to heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, the inflow at Bhakra and Pong is steadily rising. Coal stocks across Punjab’s thermal plants remained comfortable. Lehra Mohabbat has 19 days of stock, Ropar 30 days and Goindwal Sahib 22 days. In the private sector, Rajpura has 26 days and Talwandi Sabo 23 days of coal stock.