Intense heatwave: Energy demand set to go through the roof this summer, Haryana buys expensive power

Haryana is expected to experience a peak energy demand of 14,287 megawatts (MW) this summer, resulting in a deficit of 1,177 MW to 2,411 MW till September. The forecast is as per the power demand and supply projections made by Haryana Power Purchase Centre (HPPC), a joint forum of state’s two distribution companies set up for power trading. The peak energy demand in 2023-24 summer was 13,055 MW and 12,768 in 2022-23, power utilities officials said.

The projections made by the power utilities have shown that the state is expected to experience a peak energy demand of 14,287 MW in June, 14,262 MW in July, 13,811 in August and 13,548 MW in September.

“In view of the intense heatwave, sudden outages of thermal power plants and considering power availability from all the sources, the steering committee for power planning (SCPP) asked the HPPC to go in for purchase of short-term power. Following the discovery of tariffs through competitive bidding and approval of the regulator, we are buying 689 MW round-the-clock short-term power at ₹8.22 per unit for June and 604 MW at ₹6.32 per unit for July. Power purchase for August and September will be decided later by the SCPP,” said an official.

Intense heatwave upsets energy demand projections

Officials said that due to the ongoing severe heatwave, the power load has increased manifold. While the power utilities had forecasted a peak demand of 11,172 MW for May, the actual demand turned out to be 11,313 MW on May 20 and kept increasing every day. Thus, it is anticipated that more power will be required for June and July this year, officials said.

Haryana’s total energy availability this summer, as per HPPC, is 11,876 MW in June, 12,715 MW in July, 12,808 MW in August and 12,370 MW in September. Thus, the power deficit is expected to be 2,411 MW, 1,547 MW, 1,003 MW and 1,177 MW in June, July, August and September, respectively, due to an exponential increase in power requirement of agriculture tubewells due to paddy sowing and air conditioning load, the projections said.

Short & medium-term arrangement apart, energy deficit expected

Power officials said for meeting the deficit, arrangements were also made to procure 1,740 MW through short term tenders and 360 MW through medium term tenders. Also, 393 MW will be procured from Power Finance Corporation Consulting Limited under the Shakti Scheme and 110 MW will be allocated from central generating stations. Officials said even after taking into account power availability from all sources, the power utilities are expecting energy deficit in summers when the demand is at its peak.

The regulator while considering the power deficit scenario projections and submission made by the HPPC said that power may not be available at all in power exchanges from June to July even at a ceiling tariff of ₹10 per unit observed that supply particularly during the peak period was often inadequate.

It said that the supply has been continuously constrained due to non-availability of power from large sources like Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (Mundra), Faridabad Gas Power Plant and J&K Baglihar hydropower project. Besides, non-availability of certain intra-state thermal generators, particularly China-made power plants, due to technical glitches and unforeseen circumstances, cannot be ruled out. The regulator said that a 600 MW unit of Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Station, Hisar, remained boxed up since May and may take time to get restored, possibly resulting in power shortfall during the upcoming paddy season.

‘Trade-off between consumer inconvenience and purchase of expensive power considered’

Granting approval to HPPC to buy short-term power at rates discovered through competitive bidding and endorsed by SCPP ( ₹8.22 per unit for June and ₹6.32 per unit for July), the regulator said it has considered the trade-off between the loss of production due to non-availability of grid power including harassment and inconvenience faced by the consumers and purchase of expensive short-term power.

‘Consumers may get a tariff shock; fuel surcharge will increase’

The regulator has also sounded a word of caution. “The distribution companies should be mindful of the fact that they are already burdened with deferred fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge (FPPAS) amounting to ₹7,672 crore as on March 31, 2023. The higher power purchase cost will increase this bucket of deferred fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge to a level which will be difficult to realise from the consumers without giving them a tariff shock. It has been observed that there is a gap of around 3,000 MW between the daily maximum demand and minimum demand met. The distribution companies should endeavour to reduce the peak load by taking appropriate demand side management measures,” it said. It also noted that distribution companies have sold large quantum of power in power exchange at a price lower than the average purchase price.