The power distribution companies (DISCOMs) in the State are forced to resort to Emergency Load Relief (ELR) in the agricultural as well as domestic sectors for a few hours due to a deficit of nearly 40-50 Million Units (MU) per day. The deficit is being made up by procuring power from the markets either on a day-ahead or real-time basis.
According to an official release, there was a deficit after utilising all the long-term generation resources to meet the daily grid demand, and in recent days, the required quantum of power was not getting cleared in the exchanges due to the non-availability of power across the country.
The DISCOMs were, therefore, left with no option except to go for power cuts. It was mentioned that the shortage of power prompted States such as Gujarat to implement ELR in both the agriculture and industrial sectors.
The Energy Department said that a maximum demand of approximately 235 MU was met on April 1, 2022, successfully with the available generation resources and market purchases of around 64 MU.
The increase in demand was primarily due to the resumption of economic activities in the State in the wake of a let-up in the spread of the COVID pandemic and it was in line with the all-India spurt in demand.
The demand is expected to come down to some extent in the next 15 days going by the historical trend. The DISCOMs proposed a 50% load relief for continuous process industries and one day in a week (except power holiday) for the non-continuous process industries for a fortnight till the demand subsides.
