New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) Anticipating a harsher winter this year, discoms have estimated that the national capital's power demand will go up to 5,400 MW, surpassing the peak winter demand in the previous two years, officials said.

Last year, Delhi's peak power demand in winter had peaked to 5,021 MW and in 2019, it was 5,343 MW, discom officials said.

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A BSES spokesperson said the peak winter power demand in BRPL and BYPL areas had reached 2,091 MW and 1,107 MW respectively during last winter. This year, it is expected to reach 2,315 MW and 1,140 MW for BRPL and BYPL respectively.

Accurate demand (load) forecasting is critical for reliable power supply. It is done on various parameters like day-ahead, intra-day basis and medium term (from a fortnight to one year).

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Among other aspects, weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, cloud coverage, wind speed and direction, and humidity play an important role in accurate demand forecast, officials said.

Ensuring reliable power supply in any season is as much the function of proper power arrangements as also accurate demand forecast and robust distribution network.

On all these aspects, BSES discoms are fully geared to ensure adequate power availability for its around 46 lakh consumers during the winter months, said the BSES spokesperson.

The backbone of the BSES' power-supply arrangements during the winter months include long-term agreements from power plants, including hydro electric and Delhi-based gas fuelled generating stations, he said.

Additionally, BSES is also receiving over 440 MW of solar power from SECI, 250 MW of wind power, and around 25 MW from waste-to energy generation. Besides, it is also being helped by over 118 MW of solar power panels installed on roof tops in South, West, East and Central Delhi, he added.

A spokesperson of the Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) said the discom has made arrangements of up to 200 MW over and above the expected peak demand.

The discom is also using a mix of smart technologies like machine learning and AI for better load forecasting to ensure a reliable power supply to its consumers, he said.

The company's Battery Energy Storage Systems at Rohini and Rani Bagh will also support in providing continuous and reliable power to key consumers during any exigency in the months ahead, the spokesperson added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)