Country's peak power demand may cross 400 GW by FY'32: Power Secretary

New Delhi: India's peak power demand may surpass the projected 384 GW mark and even cross 400 GW by 2031-32, according to Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal.

Speaking at the CII-Smart Metering Conference, the official on Tuesday said peak power demand had already reached 250 GW in May.

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"The way power demand has grown in some states in the last two years, the demand will touch 384 GW and may easily cross 400 GW by 2031-32. For this we must have an installed (power generation) capacity of 900 GW," Agarwal said.

The Government's projection for this year's peak power demand is 260 GW, which is expected by September, according to Agarwal.

With the onset of monsoon, peak power demand has been showing a downward trend. As per official data, peak demand was around 209 GW on Monday.

He further said beneficiaries of PM Surya Ghar Yojana must be provided meters under the RDSS scheme.

"When AMISPs (Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider) have orders of 11 crore smart meters, then why we are unable to give PM Surya Ghar beneficiaries RDSS meter. I have been working with the utilities and today I urge the industry to address this. Wherever we are implementing...PM Surya Ghar, we must provide meter under RDSS," he said.

He also said that financial viability of discoms and integration of renewable energy are two main challenges before the power sector which must be addressed and resolved to achieve Prime Minister's vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

Arun Mahesh Babu, Managing Director, Gujarat Power Corp Ltd and UGVCL, said consumers must be convinced with the long-term benefits of transitioning to smart meters and the implementing agencies must work with them to build trust and resolve all queries of the consumers "who are at the helm of the smart meter transition in India."

The government launched the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) on July 20, 2021, under which deployment of 25 crore smart prepaid meters for all domestic consumers has been envisaged till March 2025.

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