LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - India's electricity transmission grid supplied a near-record amount of power in April, but the system was much more stable than the previous year thanks to cooler temperatures and the return of generation to gas.
Total electricity supplied was nearly 131 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), the fourth-highest monthly amount on record, according to data from India's National Load Dispatch Center Grid Controller.
But the total was down by more than 2.3 billion kWh (-1.8%) compared to the same month a year earlier, when much of the country was sweltering in an early heat wave ("Monthly operations report”, Grid India, May 24).
On the densely populated northern plain, temperatures in the New Delhi suburb of Palam averaged 28.2 degrees Celsius (82.8 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with 33.0 Celsius for the same month a year ago, reducing peak electrical loads for refrigeration and air conditioning.
At the same time, additional generation was provided by solar farms (+1.8 billion kWh, or +23%) and coal-fired generators (+300 million kWh, or +0.2%).
These increases helped offset some of the reduced output from hydroelectric generators (-3 billion kWh, or -25%) and gas-fired units (-300 million kWh, or -10%).
Navigation book: Indian electrical system
The combination of cooler temperatures and increased solar generation significantly reduced stress on the transmission system, especially during the afternoon peak.
System frequency fell below the minimum acceptable threshold of 49.9 cycles per second (Hertz) just 11% of the time in April 2023 compared to a record 32% in April 2022.
Although gas-fired generation decreased slightly compared to the previous year, it increased by more than 500 million kWh compared to March, the highest level in 12 months, as the cost of imported liquefied natural gas fell.
But despite the cooler average temperatures, peak demand increased by 4.2% compared to the previous year, reflecting underlying load growth from the growing number of appliances connected to the system.
The rapid growth of the underlying load will continue to make the system vulnerable in future heat waves.
COAL SAFETY
Coal-fired power generators had inventories equivalent to 12.8 days of consumption at the end of April, up from just 8.0 days at the end of the same month in 2022, reducing the risk of generator outages as a result of shortages made out of fuel.
Domestic coal production increased by 35 million tons (+10%) in the first four months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, as the government pushed for increased production to avoid a repeat of the year's blackouts former.
The volume sent to energy producers via railways increased by a more modest 12 million tons (+5%) due to congestion in the network.
Combined with cooler temperatures and lower generation, the increase in coal deliveries was enough to rebuild generator inventories to a more comfortable level and avoid previous fuel problems.
Related columns:
- India's grid is hit by rising power demand (March 29, 2023)
- India's booming economy strains coal and power supplies (March 7, 2023)
- India's Low Coal Stocks Threaten Electricity Supply (January 27, 2023)
John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. Opinions expressed are their own
Edited by Mark Potter
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