Delhi's winter peak power demand this year may break all previous records, crossing the 5,700-MW mark and power distribution companies ( discoms) are fully geared to ensure adequate power availability for its nearly 50 lakh consumers or around 2 crore residents during the winter months.
According to the State Load Despatch Centre, Delhi's peak power demand this winter can cross 5700 MW, surpassing the previous peak winter demands. Last year, it had peaked at 5526 MW, which has been the winter-record in the national capital.
The peak winter power demand in BSES (Rajdhani Power Limited) and BSES (Yamuna Power Limited) areas had reached 2338 MW and 1181 MW respectively during last winter. This year, it may to go beyond 2400 MW and 1200 MW for BRPL and BYPL respectively.
A BSES official said up to 60 per cent of the maximum winter power demand of over 3,600 MW in its areas will be met by green power. It will also bank on surplus power with other states to meet the increased demand, he said.
"Ensuring reliable supply in any season is as much the function of proper power arrangements as also accurate demand forecast and robust distribution network. On all these aspects, BSES discoms are fully geared to ensure adequate power availability for its nearly 50 lakh consumers or around two crore residents during the winter months," he said.
Apart from long-term agreements with power plants, over 2,000 MW of green power will play a significant role in ensuring reliable power supply to BSES consumers during the winter months, the official said.
This clean energy includes 840 MW of solar power, 540 MW of hydropower, 500 MW of wind power, around 40 MW from waste-to-energy conversion and over 150 MW of roof-top solar power facilities installed in south, west, east and central Delhi, he said.
In fact, up to 60 per cent of the maximum winter power demand of more than 3,600 MW in BSES areas will be met with green power, the official added.
According to official, accurate demand (load) forecasting is critical for reliable power supply. It is done on various parameters like (i) Day-ahead in 96 time-slots, (ii) Intra-day basis and (iii) Medium term (from a fortnight to one year). Among other aspects, weather parameters like Temperature, Rainfall, Cloud Coverage, Wind Speed, Wind Direction and Humidity play an important role in accurate demand forecast. Even holidays and random disturbances have an impact on the power demand.
"To meet today's power challenges; BSES uses a mix of advanced statistical forecasting models using complex algorithms, combined with state-of-the-art weather forecasting solutions, including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning,' he said.
