Sweltering heat drove up power demand to 7,800 MW in April

Amidst concerns that the demand will shoot up further once the Gruha Jyothi scheme kicks in, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) has expressed confidence in handling the demand efficiently. This year, the power utility efficiently managed a peak demand of 7,800 Mega Watts (MW) on April 23 without glitches, they said.

Amidst concerns that the demand will shoot up further once Gruha Jyothi scheme kicks in, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) has expressed confidence in handling the demand efficiently. This year, the power utility efficiently managed a peak demand of 7,800 Mega Watts (MW) on April 23 without glitches, it said. 

The peak demand in Bescom’s overall jurisdiction as well as Bengaluru Metropolitan Area Zone (BMAZ) has been consistently rising year-on-year. In the BMAZ region, the peak demand this year was around 3,570 MW, which was recorded on April 21. In the previous year, the overall peak demand was 7,740 MW and 3,505 MW in the BMAZ region.  

Officials cited soaring temperatures this year as the reason for a slight growth in demand compared to the previous year. “Although pre-monsoon showers started by May, March and April were very hot. The use of fans and ACs in many households as well as commercial establishments, along with industrial usage, drove the demand over 7,000 MW. Once it started raining, the demand came down gradually,” said a senior official in Bescom. 

As citizens frequently complain that the power infrastructure is not strong enough to handle the growing demand, the official maintained that this was not the case. “Every year, the peak demand is rising yet we have had no trouble meeting the demand. The infrastructure supports the growing demand,” the official said.  

On June 6, the peak demand was 6,937 MW, he said. He added that even the usage of IP sets reduces when rain starts, thereby bringing down the demand.  

Recently, Energy Minister K.J. George revealed that the total domestic power consumption in the State was around 14,852 MU. The power sales of Bescom to domestic consumers is around 7,615 MU. When asked if consumption of power would increase with the 200 units free power scheme, Bescom officials said they were not expecting any increase in consumption. 

“We are not giving them extra units for free. Whatever they have been consuming in the last year, the same amount will be provided for free, for citizen welfare. With the clause which says that the consumers will have to pay the net difference if they go above their average eligibility, it is highly unlikely that there will be misuse of electricity. Thus, the demand will not go up,” the official said.