Delhiites are using more electricity when they are sleeping. Breaking all the records of power consumption, the domestic Air Conditioner proved to be the most power-consuming appliance on Monday night when the power demand of the city reached seasons highest at 4,751 MW. The highest demand was recorded at 11.15 PM when most of the Delhiites are on their beds.
Earlier in the day, the peak demand was recorded 4,732 MW. However, on Tuesday the peak power demand was recorded seasons highest at 4,949 MW at around 3.30 pm.
“The recent change of time in the peak demand indicates that the Delhiites are using domestic Air Conditioners extensively. Generally, the peak power demand is recorded in the afternoon hours between 1.30 to 3.30 pm when the temperature is on the peak and most of the Delhiites are in their offices. During the day time, malls, multiplexes and various shopping complexes also use a large quantity of electricity which accelerates the power demand. But during night hours, it is only the domestic AC which consumes large quantity of electricity,” said a senior power department official.
Experts say the demand of power will grow gradually as the Air Conditioners are easily available.
“The first reason of such change in peak power demand is the heatwave which forces people to turn on the AC. The second reason is the availability of AC. The AC is no more a luxury for people. With the easy EMI schemes people buy it without knowing about its running cost. Five years ago, the common man would have found it difficult to buy an AC as it was expensive and considered to be an item of luxury but now people are installing multiple ACs in their houses leading to such power demands,” said Amit Kumar, director, the Energy and Resources Institute (Teri).
Though, the power consumption of offices, malls and other public places is almost equal to the domestic demand, the officials have noticed a decrease of power demand on weekends.
“As most offices are shut on the weekends, the peak power demand dips 400 to 500 MW on Saturdays and Sundays,” the official added.