Power consumption in the State reached an all-time high of 233.98 MU on April 2, and the average consumption for nine days in April 2021 stood at 224 MU against 189 MU during the corresponding period the previous year.
With the rise in consumption, the power utilities are taking measures to provide 24x7 uninterrupted supply and meet the growing demand, while being alert to the spread of COVID-19.
Priority areas
The government has directed that priority be given to supplying power to the domestic and agriculture sectors, and health and other essential services, according to official sources.
The power utilities have since prepared an action plan following consultations held by Energy Secretary N. Srikant with various stakeholders.
Instructions have been issued to the CMDs of distribution companies (Discoms) and field engineers to continuously monitor the supply to the agriculture, domestic and industrial sectors.
The demand grew significantly in March 2021 when compared to previous years.
The demand in March 2021 was 6,605 MU against 4,817 MU in 2015-16. Similarly, the peak demand was 7,391 MW in March 2015-16, which crossed 11,193 MW in 2020-21. The demand is expected to cross 64,000 MU this year.
The power utilities, which had been implementing high-level cost optimisation measures, could saved around ₹1,023 crore in power purchases up to December 2020. This was appreciated by the Union Ministry of Power.
Efforts are being made to adopt global best practices in the sector to achieve better results.
