New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Even as residents of the national capital are having to sweat it out due to constant electricity cuts as peak demand has touched a record 4,400 MW, the government Monday said this will further go up 28 percent to 5,636 MW during the Commonwealth Games in October 2010.
While little respite is in sight in the short term, with just 4,430 MW available during peak hours, the power ministry, nevertheless, hopes the demand during the Games will be met from five new projects that have been identified.

“To ensure completion of these projects according to schedule, the government has constituted a high level monitoring committee under the power secretary to monitor the various aspects of the implementation of these projects,” said Minister of State for Power Bharatsinh Solanki.

“The committee is meeting regularly to review the status and progress of these projects,” he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, giving the assessment of the power demand in the city, based on the estimates of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the regulator.

As per estimates by Delhi Transco, the state-run company that supplies electricity to distribution companies in the city, the peak power demand has sharply grown this summer, breaking and setting new records, especially in the last fortnight.

On June 27, the demand was 4,218 MW, touched 4,261 MW two days later and 4,337 MW June 30, but Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has also said that little respite was in sight in the near future.

“The power shortage is likely to stay for 7-8 months. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has been taking steps for production of more power,” Shinde told reporters last week.