Peak power demand back above 200 GW mark

livemint.com:

Tata Power - Delhi Distribution Ltd (DDL) said that it met the demand of 2,182 MW on Tuesday. “Today, Tata Power-DDL successfully met the demand of 2,182 MW. This has successfully demonstrated that our customers‘ increasing energy needs were taken care of without any network limitations or power disruptions." Although the peak demand this year touched a record high of 223 GW last month, the overall power demand this year has largely been in check amid the sporadic rains across the country.

Further, a crisis situation has also been averted so far as was witnessed last year due to low coal stocks to meet the surging demand. In a report last month, JP Morgan had said that India is likely to witness manageable power demand this summer with the base load remaining flat due to unseasonal rains and the government focusing on expanding power capacity. With an installed power capacity of 418GW, India relies heavily on thermal power, which constitutes 237GW of the total capacity.

The thermal power plants are already operating at elevated Plant Load Factors (PLFs), with a year-to-date average of 70% and 77% for the central sector. In light of the growing power demand, planning agencies have revised their power capacity targets for fiscal year 2032. Further, anticipating a record demand this summer, Centre took a series of decisions earlier this year including mandating 6% blending of imported coal by thermal power plants.

ICRA expects power demand to grow 5% in FY24. The projected growth rate is almost half that of the 9.6% increase last fiscal. In FY23, power demand received a boost from the resumption of economic activity and the low base effect of the Covid-hit FY22 when economic activity was severely impacted.