NEW DELHI: Continued heat wave due to a pause in the monsoon’s progress and expanding economic activities pushed India’s peak power demand to a fresh record of 209.8 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday. But higher thermal generation made possible by increased availability of coal as well as wind and hydro energy prevented power cuts from getting longer.
According to power ministry data, the new record was clocked at 2.55 p.m and marked an increase of 1.3% over the previous record record of 207 GW seen on April 29 at 2.50 p.m. Full data for Tuesday showed consumption also rising to a record 4,676 million units (MU) from 4,578 MU on April 29, marking an increase of over 2%.
The rising demand and consumption could have tripped the situation at a time when fuel stock is ‘critical’, or 25% below the normative level, at nearly half of the 173 coal-fired power plants monitored by the Central Electricity Authority. But a 16% annual increase in coal despatch as well as rising hydro and wind power have helped supply largely keep pace with the demand.
Coal-based power generation grew 26% in May from a year ago. But sequentially, it showed a negative growth of 3.8% at 98,609 MU against 1,02,529 MU in April, indicating hydro and wind power easeing pressure on thermal capacity. This is evident as the total power generation in May increased to 1,40,059 MU from 1,36,465 MU in April on the back of higher contribution from renewables.
According coal ministry data, coal dispatch rose to nearly 78 mt (million tonne) in May from 67 mt in the same month a year ago. The higher coal despatch was made possible by a 33.8% increase in total domestic production to 71.3 mt in the month under consideration against 53.25 mt a year ago.
Coal India, which accounts for 80% of fuel supplied for generation, clocked a growth of 30%, SCCL 11% and captive mines a little over 83%, the latter mostly enthused by the government allowing them to sell surplus in the market. The ministry said output from 23 of the 37 producing mines exceeded rated capacity, while the production at 10 mines stood between 80% and 100%.
On Tuesday, power minister R K Singh said there was no shortage of power and the situation is improving at power plants as imported fuel was on way to supplement availability of domestic coal.
The growth in overall generation may have arrested the power shortfall from worsening for now, the real test for the government lies ahead as fuel stocks at power plants remain low. The power ministry sees peak demand of 220 GW, which is likely during the humid period between July and September when monsoon impacts coal mining and despatch.
The sudden surge in power demand due to early — and searing — summer coinciding with a strong rebound in economic activities created a mismatch between the pace at which coal is consumed at power plants and replenishments reach them. Coal India had posted a record production of 622 million tonne in 2021-22, marking a 4.4% growth. But power demand grew at almost 15% in April and continue to hover at the same level.
“I am not worried for today, I am worried for the monsoon. There is no shortage of coal right now for generating power today. As I am getting my daily supply. If we don’t push up supplies then I will have a shortage of coal in the monsoon.We have reserve stocks of around 19.5 million tonnes. If I have 35-40 million tonnes, that will be great,” power minister R K Singh told TOI recent.
