Govt urges ‘judicious use’ of electricity as demand surges

The government on Friday appealed to citizens to use power “wisely and judiciously”, a day after the country notched up a four-day streak of record-breaking power consumption amid a punishing heatwave that has forced people to crank up cooling appliances.

- Jayashree Nandi

Friday's peak demand stood at 267.68 GW — marginally lower than Thursday's all-time high of 270.82 GW, which itself surpassed records set on each of the three preceding days.

The peak daytime demand, which typically occurs between 2pm and 4pm, has been met on each day, the ministry said.

‐Due to the intense heat wave in the country, the demand for electricity is also increasing. In the last four days, electricity demand has broken all previous records... Although we are ready to supply electricity as required, due to the intense summer, let us all try to use electricity wisely and judiciously,” the ministry of power stated in a social media post on Friday.

Over the weekend, demand is expected to ease marginally as commercial establishments remain closed.