Mumbai: Days after its peak power demand hit an all-time high of 4,372MW last month, Mumbai breached the record once again on Monday at 4,540MW. Tata Power and Adani Electricity could together generate only 865MW and the remaining 3,675MW had to be drawn from outside the city.The sharp gap between local generation and actual demand highlights a structural challenge for Mumbai, where peak consumption has hovered between 4,000MW and 4,400MW in recent years and is projected to rise to 5,000MW in the coming years.Power sector experts said the surge demand is driven by multiple factors, including the rapid expansion of data centres, the spread of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and rising traction demand from Metro rail operations, including existing lines 1, 3, 2A and 7.To strengthen supply reliability, a 1,000MW high-voltage direct current link was commissioned last month, giving Mumbai’s transmission capacity a major boost. This increased the city’s external power intake capacity by 50%.Consumers have been encouraged to shift usage to non-peak hours through ‘time of day’ tariffs, a dynamic pricing model in which rates vary with demand, with a benefit of 50 paise per unit offered for off-peak consumption.
