The extreme heat wave in north- west India has triggered the peak power demand in northern states. On May 30, 2024, the northern region achieved a record demand, reaching an all-time high of 86.7 GW. During this month the maximum power demand crossed 14000 MW in Punjab, 12000 MW in Haryana , 29000 MW in Uttar Pradesh , 17000 MW in Rajasthan , and 8300 MW in Delhi .
Due to intense heat amid rising temperature in May , the power demand in Punjab touched14509 MW against last year’s maximum demand of 11987 MW. The power demand in May has increased by more than 20 % from last year. The average daily supply by PSPCL has also increased by around 37 % to 2338 LU per day against last year's supply of 1700 Lakh units per day. The maximum daily power supply made by PSPCL was 2333 LU on May 23 last year and this year the power supply has gone up to 2875 LU on May 23.
In adjoining Haryana the maximum power demand in the state was 12336 MW on May 24 against last year’s demand of 9975 -MW on May 23 . The maximum power demand has increased by more than 23% in May this year. The supply made by UHBVN and DHBVN this year is 68390 LU against 50980 LU last May. The power supply made in Haryana by power utilities has increased by more than 33%. The maximum supply of 2596 Lakh units was made by UHBVN and DHBVN on May 31 against last year's supply of 2054 LU on May 23.
Some power shortfalls have been reported across these states as complaints of emergency load shedding and outages persist due to local breakdowns caused by overloaded and overheated distribution and transmission networks, including transformers and cables. On paper, there is no shortage of electricity in these states, but on the ground, the situation is different as power outages are reported from different places every day.
As per NRLDC report, on May 28, the maximum power demand of UP reached 29, 261 MW. In Rajasthan the maximum power demand of 17460 MW was on May 30. Similarly Punjab witnessed 14509 MW on May 22 , Haryana 12336 MW on May 24 and .Delhi hit 8, 302 MW on May 29.
As per NRLDC data the maximum energy consumed in northern states in May was 18900 lakh units on May 29 . Uttar Pradesh consumed 5746 lakh units(LU), Rajasthan 3484 LU , Punjab 2719 LU, Haryana 2482 LU, and Delhi 1583 LU. On May 30 the northern region also achieved a record demand, reaching an all-time high of 86.7 GW.