Faced with a spike in power demand in hot weather conditions, the Electricity Department has recently issued an advisory on reducing power consumption.
The Department noted that since May, all the regions of the Union Territory—Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam—had been experiencing extremely hot weather conditions.
Due to the severe rise in temperature, there has been a drastic increase in the usage of a/c loads in houses, shops, industries, offices and commercial establishments.
Since all the a/c loads are being switched on virtually simultaneously by all categories of consumers, the power demand of Union Territory has reached the maximum level. As a result, the burden on the electrical infrastructure has increased and low voltage problem has risen in several places. This has also led to frequent snapping of conductors/ electrical lines. Using airconditioners with the thermostat setting below 26 degrees, could lead to an abnormal rise in the consumption of electricity and in the bill amount. Further, the total power demand of Puducherry could overburden capacity.
The department has advocated setting the thermostat at 26 degree or higher to reduce the power demand from installations in houses, shops, industries, offices and commercial establishments.
Further, by increasing the thermostat setting of airconditioing units to higher temperature, energy savings upto 6% can be achieved as per the guidelines issued by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency(BEE) of Government of India.
Major shops and commercial establishments are requested to reduce their a/c loads during evening peak hours from 6 p.m. to midnight.
T. Chanemougam, Superintending Engineer and Head of the Electricity Department, urged all categories of electricity consumers to follow the thermostat recommendation and extend their co-operation till there is improvement/reprieve from the extremely hot weather conditions.
Published - June 10, 2024 10:41 pm IST
