Outages in Gzb as power demand almost 25% higher than last May

Ghaziabad/Noida: Shooting temperatures have also been driving up power demand in the region. In Ghaziabad, the demand has shot up by nearly 25% in May compared to the same time last year.

On Tuesday, the city recorded its peak power consumption at 1,607 MW, while on Wednesday it was 1,506 MW. Last May’s peak demand was 1,275 MW.

According to UPPTCL, the power demand usually peaks during July and Aug when humidity adds to the discomfort.

The discom said it could supply 3,212 MV, so there would be no shortage. Officials, however, urged residents not to run all electrical appliances simultaneously and use equipment like submersible pumps, washing machines, and others between 6am and 9am.

The city has been witnessing widespread outages over the past few days, causing residents to fume. In Behrampur, residents claimed there were nearly 14-16 hours of power cuts over the last 7 days.

“There are over 15,000 residents in the area and the frequent outages, besides the prolonged ones, make life unbearable in this heat. While doctors and the administration are advising us not to step out in the afternoons, the outages ensure people are not able to work from home either,” Keshav Karnatak, a resident of the area, said.

On Wednesday, there was a 6-hour power cut at Loni’s Oxy Homez Society. “The power department ascribed it to a technical fault in an 11KV feeder that supplies power to our society. We were left to sweat through the evening till midnight. There were outages on Thursday afternoon too,” Vipin Kumar, a resident of the society, said.

Er Ramanand Chauhan, the superintending engineer of electricity, said power cuts were related to the excess demand. “Line employees and engineers are working day and night and trying to provide electricity supply to the consumers. Even at 48 degrees Celsius, they are repairing the line by climbing iron poles. We are requesting all the consumers to avoid calling the line staff so that they can quickly repair the fault and restore supply and also remain safe,” he said

In Greater Noida, too, the power department recorded its peak demand on Wednesday at 757 MW, a nearly 44% increase compared to May 2023. Noida has seen an increase in power demand as well. On April 1, the city’s power demand was 831.6MW and on May 22, it touched 1,310MW. It is expected to go further till July, NPCL said. In the current financial year, the highest demand so far was recorded on May 22, they added.


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