State’s power demand cools as temperature dips

Tamil Nadu's peak power demand drops by over 20% after hitting record high, easing with cooler weather.

After hitting a record high on May 2, Tamil Nadu’s peak power demand has eased amid cooler weather.

Tamil Nadu has the highest power demand among the southern States. It logged an all-time high peak power demand of 20,830 MW on May 2, amid heat wave conditions.

After hitting a record high, the State’s evening peak power demand hovered around 18,000 MW - 18,958 MW in the first week of May, according to data from the Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre (SRLDC).

With rain and cooler weather, the power demand has dropped by over 20%. On May 16, Tamil Nadu’s evening peak demand was 15,878 MW. It dropped to 15,487 MW on May 17. On May 18, the peak demand was 15,555 MW, and it came down to 13,663 MW on May 19, according to SRLDC data.

Tangedco meets the demand during summer from the 15,197 MW of installed capacity of conventional sources, and the net availability is 12,917 MW. It procures power through short-term agreements, power exchanges and swap arrangements to overcome the shortfall.

Recently, Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) approved Tangedco’s plan to buy power at a cost of ₹2,754.93 crore from March-May 2024, to meet the summer demand.

This is nearly 8 times more than what had been allowed for 2023-24, TNERC said and told the state power utility to mull ways to reduce the purchase of high cost power