1 day Ago By Venkadesan S
Chennai: The city is facing an extended summer after the maximum temperature on Wednesday crossed 37°C, at least 5°C above the normal temperature in mid-Sept. With the searing heat, the electricity demand , which had stayed largely flat since June at 70 million units (Mu), has begun to surge in Sept to more than 80 Mu. It's not just the city.
IMD Regional Meteorological Centre's map for Tamil Nadu for Wednesday showed maximum temperatures hovering between 17°C (Ooty) to 41°C (Madurai) in Tamil Nadu. The heat across the state has driven up electricity demand, which has been steadily rising in Sept after remaining relatively flat since June. Tamil Nadu's statewide power consumption shattered records on Tuesday, reaching an all-time high for Sept.
The state's demand exceeded 400 million units (Mu), surpassing the previous Sept peak of 370 Mu. Across the state, power consumption breached the 400 Mu mark on Tuesday, smashing records and touching an all-time high for Sept. The demand for power in Sept in Tamil Nadu has not exceeded 370 Mu.
"Only rain can bring some relief," said a senior official at Tangedco. "Maximum temperature is likely to be 2-4°C above normal in a few pockets over Tamil Nadu. Due to humid air and high temperatures, hot and discomforting weather is likely to prevail over isolated pockets," said IMD scientist P Senthamarai Kannan in his daily weather report.
For Chennai and its neighbourhood, the weather condition is likely to be partly cloudy. Light rain is expected to occur in some areas. "Maximum temperature is likely to be 38-39°C and minimum temperature is likely to be 28-29°C," he said.
The forecast said day temperatures are likely to continue to remain high across the state for a week. "It's been hot and sweaty, but what is worrying more is we are using air-conditioners for longer hours like we do in May and June. Our bills are likely to be high this month too," said Saraswathy R, a techie who lives in Adyar.
Tangedco officials anticipate that energy demand will go up in Oct if dry weather prevails. "Chennai's power demand will usually go up in October, which will consume an additional 30 Mu," said an official. On Tuesday, the state's power consumption was 412.
049 Mu, while the power demand peaked at 19,393 megawatts (MW). On March 28, when summer was beginning to peak, Tangedco witnessed a similar demand. During the core summer period, the peak power demand went up to 20,830 MW on May 2, while the all-time high per day consumption of 454.
320 Mu was recorded on April 20. The sudden demand pushed Tangedco to purchase power from the open market. "At least 1,000 MW was purchased from the market at Rs 10/unit, since the demand peaked at 4.
30 pm when the solar power generation was declining. If the demand peaks during solar hours, we need not buy power from outside," said sources. Solar power generation has been good for the last few weeks.
On Tuesday, the solar power generation was 47.2 Mu and the peak generation was 6,278 MW..
