Govt gears up for 17-day of heat emergency in April
Photo credit Bihar State Power Transmission
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, March 30: Even while unseasonal rains have lashed several parts of the country in March, move is afoot in the government to prepare for 17 days of heat emergency in the month of April. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is keeping a close tab on the emerging situations in the country ahead of the onset of the summer season.
“Unseasonal rains have given a breather as far as electricity demand situation is concerned in the country. We are working in close coordination with all stakeholders to meet the emerging situations,” said a senior functionary of the CERC.
After warm February, which broke records of several years, major parts of the country are being lashed by hailstorm, unseasonal rains and strong winds. North-western parts of the country have seen strong spell of rains in the current month. Northern parts, North-Central regions and even Karnataka are being lashed by heavy rains.
Unlike generally warm March month, temperature has been several notches lower on account of rains. The change of weather patterns is being predicted to persist for a few days.
“Our assessment is that there will be 17 days of extreme heat conditions in the month of April. For us, there will be at least 17 days of emergency to meet the likely soaring demands for electricity. We are making arrangements accordingly,” added the official.
The Raisina Hills had previously reported that the thermal power generation utilities have been asked to step up coal imports. India has a shortage of high grade coals, which is met with imports from Indonesia mostly. But India has significantly scaled up imports of coal from Russia due to price advantage. China is seen to be also aggressively importing coals from Russia on a larger scale.
“To ensure grid discipline on the power exchanges, the mechanism is already in place that the peak power unit cost cannot exceed Rs 12. This will insulate the bulk buyers of electricity from wild movement of prices on days of power emergency, which is expected in the month of April,” said the functionary of the regulatory body.
It may be recalled that last year several parts of the country had reported extreme heat conditions, beating 122 years of records of high temperature. “We are keeping a close tab on weather pattern and its impact on the electricity demands. This year we are prepared to meet the extreme conditions,” noted the official.
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