Peak power demand shot up by over 10 per cent on Monday and Tuesday as day temperatures soared in the island city and suburbs. The BEST is undertaking supplies of an average 700 MW power to 10.5 lakh consumers between Colaba/Cuffe Parade and Sion/Mahim.
As stated in Times of India, a BEST official said that on Monday, peak demand went up to 763 MW, and to 780 MW on Tuesday. It has, however, signed power purchase agreements with Tata Power for a low rate of ₹4.63 per unit and short-term agreements with a few private firms to buy electricity at cheaper rates during summer. The officials stated that they are also finalising procurement of an additional 100 MW from Manikaran Power Ltd this summer as approvals have come from Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC).
Consumers will not be burdened as power will be procured for ₹3.94 unit and BEST has proposed a 3 per cent drop in tariff from April. On the other hand, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), which supplies power to Bhandup-Mulund, Thane, Navi Mumbai and rest of state, will hike tariff by 6 per cent as it has factored in the procurement of extra power at higher costs from the power exchange. MSEDCL officials said the normal power distribution across Maharashtra was 17,000 to 18,000 MW but in the past two days, the demand had shot up to 19,500 MW.
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In the case of suburbs, Adani Electricity, which is the largest supplier with a consumer base of 30 lakh, including residential and commercial users, witnessed a 13 per cent surge in demand too. A spokesperson from Adani Electricity said that there has been an increase in demand over the past two days due to the in temperature. The demand recorded on Friday normal was 1,463 MW, which further went up to 1,612 MW and 1,652 MW on Monday and Tuesday.
The spokesperson further said that Adani Electricity was fully equipped to meet the rising demand. In case of MSEDCL, the state has in the recent past signed contracts with suppliers for procurement of 35,000 MW of which 28,000 MW will be power purchase agreements and the rest tie-ups to import electricity from other states. This has been done to meet any exigencies arising out of peak demand in the near future.
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