Rains lead to downward trend in power demand in Telangana

Officials said intermittent rains have driven down the agricultural demand for electricity and added that given the projection of continuing rains and thunderstorms, power demand was also expected to remain low in the next few days.

Hyderabad: The power demand has fallen amid cooling temperatures and rains in several parts of the State. The maximum power demand met on Saturday, stood at 12,043 MW, way below the highest peak demand of 15,254 MW on March 14. In fact, it was 11,464 MW on March 17, one of the lowest in the recent past.

According to Transco officials, the recent cooling of temperatures due to rains have resulted in the lowering of power demand in the State. When the heat as well as demand were at their peak, the load per day crossed 290 lakh units but it came down to about 222 lakh units on Saturday, a senior official stated. Even power generation in the State has come down dramatically in the last four days from 299.186 MU on March 14 to 223.538 MU on March 18, he said. Rains and moderate weather over the past four days have given a breather to the power transmission system and have led to a decrease in overall load on the system, he informed.

---

Officials said intermittent rains have driven down the agricultural demand for electricity and added that given the projection of continuing rains and thunderstorms, power demand was also expected to remain low in the next few days. However, power officials stated that the reduction in power consumption was a temporary phenomenon and that consumption would shoot up soon after the rain stops. The power utilities are expecting the power demand to cross 16,000 MW during the ongoing summer. Reduced consumption would help conserve hydel energy, which can be used when the demand increases later, they observed.

Peak Demand(March 14): 15,254 MW

Peak Demand(March 18): 12,043 MW

Power production(March 14): 299.186 mu

Power production(March 18): 223.538 mu

Projected power demand: 16,000 MW