'Took years to fix but can be damaged in two days': Arvind Kejriwal takes veiled dig at Delhi govt over power outage

NEW DELHI: Amid the rising temperatures in the national capital, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday indirectly blamed the state government for "damaging" Delhi's electricity infrastructure.
"In the last ten years, we have worked hard to fix Delhi's electricity system. It is said that it takes years to fix anything, but it can be damaged in just two days," Kejriwal, the former Chief Minister of Delhi, wrote in a post on X.
His statement comes at a time when the city’s electricity demand surged to 5,462 megawatts, resulting in hours-long power outages in several areas. Kejriwal pointed out that under the AAP government last year, the demand had peaked at 8,500 MW without any outages.
"Yesterday, the peak demand in Delhi was 5462 MW. Due to this, there was no electricity for several hours in many places in Delhi last night. Last year, the peak demand reached about 8500 MW. Still, there was no power outage anywhere in Delhi during our government," he said.
"What will happen in the coming weeks when the heat in Delhi increases and the demand for electricity also increases?" he asked.
According to officials, Delhi's power demand touched 5,090 MW at 12:31 PM on Wednesday—the highest recorded so far this season—and is expected to rise further as temperatures soar.
The all-time highest power demand in the city was 8,656 MW, recorded in June 2024. This summer, the peak demand is projected to touch 9,000 MW for the first time, as per the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC).
On Tuesday, the demand was recorded at 5,029 MW at 3:30 PM, attributed to rising temperatures and increased use of cooling appliances.
Meanwhile, Delhi's weather is also heating up. The minimum temperature recorded today was 25.6°C, which is 5.6 degrees above normal. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), "There has been an appreciable rise in minimum temperatures and no large change in maximum temperatures over Delhi/NCR during the past 24 hours. The Maximum and Minimum temperatures are in the range of 39 to 41°C and 24 to 26°C, respectively."
In preparation for the anticipated demand, BSES discoms—BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL)—are making arrangements to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to over 50 lakh consumers and nearly 2 crore residents across South, West, East and Central Delhi.