Ahmedabad: Demand for power throughout Gujarat surged to a high record on Tuesday, thanks to increased electricity consumption in the agricultural sector in the middle of a traffic jammed monsoon.
With more farmers drawing ground water using pumps to save their plants, the demand for electricity from the farm space has also reached a high level of all time.
The maximum power demand for the state established at 19.431mW on Tuesday, which is the highest so far, shows the daily data compiled by the Western Region Shipping Center (WRLDC), which is a central government entity.
Previously, the power request had touched 19,360mW in April this year.
The surge in demand is mainly associated with increasing electricity use by farmers for irrigation purposes.
“Consumption in agriculture has spinned when farmers draw more groundwater to save their crops behind the traffic jams,” said people who monitored the inventory of power demand in the state.
The state government also raises time to supply power to farmers for up to 10 hours a day, which also contributes to higher consumption.
According to sources, around 110 million units (Mus) or an average of 4,583mW of power consumed in the agricultural sector on Tuesday, slightly lower than the consumption of all 111mus (around 4,625 MW) in the state.
It can be mentioned here that a calm monsoon has caused a 48% rain deficit in a state when compared to normal rainfall until August 15.
“The generation of poor solar power and solar power amid high demand records have put pressure on Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) to get expensive electricity from power exchanges,” KK Bajaj said, a regulatory and energy-based energy expert.
The power request was 17,947mW recorded at 6 pm on Wednesday, according to the State-Gujarat load shipping center.