As people celebrated the festival of lights on Thursday, Tamil Nadu saw a sharp decline in power demand. On October 31, the state’s power demand fell to 10,961 MW, with daily energy consumption recorded at 264 million units (MU).
The significant drop in demand was attributed to the closure of offices and industrial units for Deepavali. Power demand was at 12,243 MW on Thursday morning but decreased to 10,961 MW by evening as the festivities continued.
In Chennai, peak power demand on Thursday night fell to 2,665 MW at around 10:30 p.m., with the cityâs total consumption for the day at 60.90 MU. On the previous day, Wednesday, Chennaiâs demand was 3,310 MW, with a consumption of 77.47 MU.
According to a Tangedco official, the utility had anticipated lower power demand due to the holiday and reduced high-cost power purchases. “We observed a gradual decline in demand starting Tuesday,” the official noted. On Tuesday, statewide power consumption was 362 MUs, which fell to 337 MUs on Wednesday before dropping to 264 MUs on Deepavali.