The demand for electricity has reached its peak with 1438 MW on the day of Laxmi Puja on Sunday, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said.
According to the NEA, the demand soared by 133 MW to 1438 MW at 6 pm compared to last year.
The demand for electricity on the day of Laxmi Puja, which fell on October 24 last year, was put at 1305 MW.
As industries and factories are closed during Tihar, the demand hit the highest excluding industrial customers. This year, the Authority had projected that the demand would reach 1357 MW and managed the electricity supply accordingly.
According to the Authority, 517 MW of electricity saved after meeting the electricity demand in the country was exported to India during the peak period.
Last year only 406 MW was exported during peak time on Laxmi Puja. On the day of Laxmi Puja, total electricity demand in the system including export is recorded at 1955 MW. Last year the peak demand was 1711 MW.
According to the Authority, the peak demand of Kathmandu Valley has been recorded at 366 MW on the day of Laxmi Puja this year. It was 342 MW last year.
Managing Director of the Authority, Kulman Ghising, was assigned to the control room of the Load Dispatch Center at Syuchatar on Sunday with a team of Managing Directors to get information about electricity demand and supply management on the day of Laxmi Puja.
Managing Director Ghising said that seven years ago, 254 MW had to be imported to meet the demand on the day of Laxmi Puja, but now it is a historic leap in the energy sector to reach a situation where the saved electricity is exported using domestic production. He also mentioned that the peak demand for Laxmi Puja increased by 10 percent over last year, which is a positive indication.
Although Kulekhani 1st, 2nd, and 3rd reservoirs have a power generation capacity of 101 MW, the Authority operated only at 16 MW during peak hours.
Four hundred and twenty MW from other power plants owned by the Authority, 522 MW from power plants owned by subsidiaries of the Authority such as Upper Tamakoshi, and Chilime, and 997 MW from private sector power plants were produced and supplied.
As in previous years, the Authority has succeeded in supplying uninterrupted electricity throughout the country on the day of Lakshmi Puja this year. The campaign to declare the country free from load shedding was started on the day of Lakshmi Puja in 2073 BS. At present, the country is not only free from load shedding but the electricity saved after consumption within the country is being exported.
The Authority had kept the heads of distribution centers, power plants, and technical staff on standby throughout the country to prevent power outages on the day of Laxmi Puja.
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