CHENNAI: Prolonged holidays and a nip in the air brought down power demand in Tamil Nadu to below 8,000MW on Thursday. The fall in demand is almost 2,000MW compared to pre-Pongal days when the demand was 10,000MW. Thanks to this fall, many Tangedco thermal units have been put in standby mode. Sources in the discom said power purchase from the market has also come down in recent days. The demand is expected to increase from Monday, said officials.“Since last Monday, power demand has been low because of the holidays. We have not shut thermal units. They have only been put on standby mode such that they can be stepped up whenever demand increases,” said a senior Tangedco official.Two units, each with a capacity of 210MW, have been shut at Mettur Thermal Power Plant (MTPP). While one unit was stopped for maintenance a week ago, the other was stopped on Wednesday night due to lower demand. MTPP has four units of 210MW each and a new one with 600MW.Unlike Diwali, when power demand came down just for a day, the Pongal holidays saw a prolonged period of low demand. “Government offices, schools and colleges have remained closed for the past six days. Many private establishments also remained closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. As a result, the peak demand has fallen drastically from 14,500MW that prevailed a week ago,” said the official.Apart from the commercial segment, the domestic demand has also come down. Many households have not been using fans during the day and in the night.Domestic demand has been steadily falling since early December. The drop in use of air conditioners alone has reduced demand by 2,500MW, the official said.Meanwhile, wind power generation has also given some relief for almost a week. “In the evenings, we are able to tap about 700MW of wind energy. It is much better compared to the corresponding period last year,” the official said. Central units have been supplying about 4,500MW to Tamil Nadu. “All three units at Vallur, with a total capacity of 1,500MW, have restarted generation after shutting for a week owing to a high court order. We get about 900MW from Vallur at present,” said the official.

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