Vadodara: The ongoing dry-spell has pushed up power demand to 15,400 mw in Gujarat, up from 14,000 mw last week, primarily driven by irrigation demand, said an official on Tuesday.
However, the top official of the city-based state-run discom Gujarat Urja Vij Nigam ruled out any danger of shortage as the plants which were shut last week due to falling demand after the monsoons, are back to generation now.
“Total power demand, which was around 17,000 mw before the monsoons, dropped to around 14,000 mw in the first week of July but has again picked up today,” the official said.
The discom could meet the peak demand of 17,000 mw this summer when maximum temperatures rose 44-45 degree Celsius in many parts, he said.
The demand had dipped last month due to heavy rains but due to the prevailing dry spell, farmers are using more power for irrigation, he explained.
Demand from the farm sector had fallen to 30 million units after the monsoon showers which rose to 70 million units now, he said.
As many as 11 coal-based power plants at Wanakbori, Uukai, Gandhinagar and Sikka were shut last week on falling demand, but now they are again back on stream to meet the increasing demand, he said, adding the state had seen continuous rains in the first week of July, sharply pulling down power demand.
With 26,544 mw of installed capacity, Gujarat is one of few power-surplus states, he said, adding, so there will not be any shortage at all.
Source: News18