The power demand in the state rose to 17,584 MW on Saturday beating the last year’s peak of 17,563MW recorded on April 29, 2022.
The peak recorded on Saturday, considered relatively a leisure day compared to weekdays, has surprised the Tangedco officials.
With the summer yet to get hotter, Tangedco foresees a power crisis during the peak of summer.
“This summer power demand is likely to be very high. We have already crossed the last year’s peak of 17,563 MW on a low demand day,” tweeted Rajesh Lakhoni, chairman and managing director (CMD) of the state-owned discom.
The total electricity consumption in the state on Saturday was 352.95 million units (MU), which is again more for the weekend.
A Tangedco official said that the peak demand was reported at 10.30am when solar power was available with which the demand was met.
On Saturday, 32.4 MU of solar was absorbed by the grid and wind energy also picked up on the same day, which led to the harnessing of 30.34 MU of wind power.
“Chennai’s power demand did not go up and is around 2,800MW. During the end of March, the demand will go up to 18,000MW and 18,500 MW in April,” said the official, attributing Saturday’s demand to consumption in agri connections as well as reduced maintenance work at substations to ensure uninterrupted power supply for students preparing for board exams.
