Power demand higher in Delhi than 2020 on 227 days of last year
NEW DELHI: While the Covid-19 outbreak and the lockdown in 2020 had resulted in Delhi’s power demand dipping significantly after a constant rise for many years, last year saw the demand rising again and almost come close to the all-time high.
The city’s highest peak power demand in 2021 was 7,323 MW, just a shade lower than the all-time high of 7,409 MW recorded in 2019. However, what is perhaps a better parameter of gauging the rise in demand, on 227 days in 2021, or 61% times, the peak power demand was higher than the corresponding days in 2020.
According to officials, 2021 not only saw the intense second Covid-19 wave, but also excessive weather conditions. As the year came to a close, the capital experienced extreme cold waves. The city witnessed an intense monsoon that continued well into late October recording 1,512.4mm of rainfall till December 29, the second highest ever.
The extreme weather events, along with Covid related restrictions and their eventual easing had an impact on the power demand, sources said. A month-wise analysis showed that peak power demand in December 2021 was higher on 58% or 18 corresponding days vis-a-vis December 2020. For November 2021, it was higher on 15 corresponding days compared with November 2020.
