With the mercury hovering at 42 degrees Celsius and having soared over 44 degrees earlier last week, it was indicated that power demand in Noida and Greater Noida might hit a new high peak.

Officials from NPCL in Greater Noida stated that they were preparing for an 800 MW demand in the coming days, citing a 44% increase from last year. They noted that the highest peak load in Greater Noida in May 2023 had been 595MW. This year, on May 29, it had recorded the highest peak demand of 758MW.

Sarnath Ganguly, vice president (Operations) NPCL, Greater Noida, mentioned, "The demand for electricity in Greater Noida is estimated to reach around 800 MW, and we have adequate arrangements to meet it." He attributed this increased demand to the intense heat, high occupancy rates in high-rise societies, and growth in the industrial sector. He added, "More and more people are using ACs, coolers, and electrical equipment for longer durations."

Ganguly assured residents that there would be no supply shortages, mentioning that arrangements had been made in advance to address increased peak demand. He explained, "We have 500MW supply from thermal sources and 110MW, or 25%, from renewable energy such as wind, solar, hydro etc. Till March this year, we had sourced around 25% green power. This is expected to increase in this fiscal year. We are eyeing to further enhance the renewable share in the coming 2-3 years. For the remaining needs, we procure electricity from the power exchange."

NPCL procures power from long, medium, and short-term sources from states like Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, among others, through the Central and state grids. Ganguly also noted that the recent commissioning and energising of two new substations at Jalpura and Knowledge Park (KP) 5 in April and May this year, respectively, had helped maintain the demand-supply ratio.

Meanwhile, officials in Noida are also gearing up for an estimated 2,400MW demand in the coming days, which is 200 MW more than last year's 2,200MW. For June, the state has purchased 600MW from 7 pm to 5 am at Rs 9.97 per kWh from the power exchange to meet the expected high demand including in Noida.

Rajiv Goyal, former vice president NPCL and CEO-director, EKI Power Trading, expressed concerns, saying, "There?s an alarming situation on-ground with boiling infrastructure leading to frequent outages. Noida Authority should earmark at least Rs 3.5 billion for distribution infrastructure development. In older sectors, there?s a need to install at least 8 33/11kV substation and 300 transformers of 400kVA capacity so that the next summer does not bear this problem."