The peak power demand in the country touched an all-time high of 176.8 GW in April 2019.

According to the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), the all India peak demand touched 176.8 GW in  2019, registering a 9% increase over the demand recorded in April 2018.

Peak demand in April 2019 was 7.8 GW more when compared to the 169 GW peak demand registered in March 2019 on IEX. When contacted, a market insider informed that the rise in demand can be attributed to the increased summer demand, Lok Sabha elections and the increasing demand from a growing number of households that are added to the grid under the household electrification program.

On all India basis, the energy supplied in April 2019 was 112 billion units (BUs), an increase of 7% from 105 BUs supplied in April 2018. Compared to March 2019, the energy supplied was higher by 2 BUs.

The spot power price in April 2019 was ₹3.22 (~$0.0464)/kWh, a 19% decline year-over-year (YoY), when compared to ₹3.98 (~$0.0574)/kWh in April 2018. Compared to March 2019, the spot power price went up by ₹0.10 (~$0.0014)/kWh.

When asked about the rise in spot power price compared to the previous month, the market insider said, “During the peak hours the demand increases, the distribution companies (DISCOMs) indulge in resale of power after purchasing it from other sources on the exchange leading to added costs and the increase in coal price has also affected the price. The coal prices have risen by almost 15% to 20%.”

The electricity market at IEX, Day Ahead Market (DAM) and Term Ahead Market (TAM) combined traded 4,338 million units (MUs) in April 2019, registering 4% increase over 4,189 MUs traded in April 2018 and a 20% increase over the 3,602 MUs traded in March 2019.

The DAM experienced transmission congestion mainly towards the import of power by the southern states which led to volume loss of 68 MUs representing ~1.7% of the total traded volume. The percentage of time congestion occurred was 16.3%.

The TAM traded 332 MUs in April this year, a 148% increase YoY compared to the 134 MUs traded in April 2018, and a 35% increase compared to 246 MUs traded in March 2019.

‘One Nation, One Price’ was realized for 16 days and on a daily average basis, 762 participants traded in the market during the month.