New Delhi: The Centre has rolled out measures to meet the projected peak summer electricity demand, expected to reach 240 GW during daytime and 235 GW during evening hours in June 2024. In April 2024, these measures successfully met a peak evening power demand of 224 GW.
Key actions include Section 11 directions for imported-coal-based power plants to make full capacity available, shifting planned maintenance of power plants to the monsoon season, minimizing partial and forced outages of thermal generating units, reviving thermal plants under long outage, and advising generation companies to keep their plants in healthy condition for full capacity availability.
Additionally, hydro power generation has been optimized, and generating stations have been directed to offer surplus power for sale in the Energy Exchange.
Further measures for May and June include issuing Section 11 directions to gas-based power plants, making an additional 6 GW available, in addition to the 10 GW already available.
Optimization of hydro power generation has added another 4 GW, while shifting planned maintenance and minimizing outages of thermal plants have contributed an additional 5 GW. Power generated from wind is expected to increase by 4 GW to 5 GW during May and June.
These measures, along with the anticipated above-normal monsoon predicted by the IMD, are expected to adequately meet the power demand during both day and night hours in May and June 2024.
