Day after record supply by PSPCL, rain, thunderstorm bring down Punjab’s power demand by 4,000 MW
Around 3 am on Thursday, the power demand was around 15,000 MW in Punjab, which gradually climbed down to 11,000 MW around 9 am
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A day after the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) recorded its highest-ever power supply at 3,572 lakh units and a peak demand of 15,729 MW on Wednesday, the state on Thursday morning saw a massive dip, around 4,000 MW, in power demand — thanks to the rain and thunderstorm in several parts of the state.
Around 3 am on Thursday, the power demand was around 15,000 MW which gradually climbed down to 11,000 MW around 9 am, moments after rain and thunderstorms hit parts of Punjab, including Ludhiana, Rupnagar, Nawanshahr and Hoshiarpur among others.
According to PSPCL officials, at one point of time, Punjab was under drawing power from the northern grid at just 1,600 MW. Usually around this time of the year, the state draws around 9,000 MW to 10,000 MW of power daily.
According to the data, last year, the maximum power supply on a single day made by the PSPCL stood at 3,427 lakh units on September 9, 2023.
First instance of power shortage in Punjab this year
On Tuesday, as per the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) sources, there was a power shortage of around 320 lakh units. This was the first time this year when the state saw a power shortage and bought 835 lakh units of power at Rs 48 crore through power exchange.
The SLDC is a critical unit of power system operation responsible for real time monitoring, control and operation flow of electricity across the state grid. It also assures stability, reliability and security of the power system.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday amid a record-breaking demand, all the thermal power plants in the state, including those that are owned by private companies, ensured a constant supply of power keeping in mind the paddy sowing season. On this day, the power supply from within the state was around 6,100 MW while 9,700 MW had to be drawn from the national grid.
Coal stock across thermal power plants
According to officials, the coal stock at the Lehra Mohabbat thermal plant will last 20 days while those at the Ropar and Goindwal thermal plants will last 15 days each.
Among the private company-owned thermal plants, Rajpura has coal stocks for 26 days while Talwandi Sabo’s stock will last for just 4 days.
Water levels
The water level in the Bhakra reservoir is at 1,584.25 feet, which is only 4 feet more than last year’s level of 1,588.28 feet on the corresponding day. At Ranjit Sagar, the water level is at 502.24 feet, which is more than 10 metre lower than last year’s 512.27 metre.
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