AC use soars with humidity, heat; power cuts, voltage flip-flop make 2025 debut
Times of India | 13 May 2025
Kolkata: The soaring temperature over the past few days, which saw a spike in the use of air conditioners, has put the power network under strain in certain areas, triggering outages in these localities.Residents of Jatin Bagchi Road, Chetla, and Sahapur reported outages around 8 pm on Sunday when the high discomfort factor due to heat and humidity prompted homes to switch on the ACs.In a locality under Anandapur police station, some residents did not have power from 1.30 am to 6.30 am. A locality in New Alipore experienced major voltage fluctuations.Hundreds of consumers from multiple localities in the city received the SMS: "Power supply may have been disturbed due to a local network issue. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. We are trying our best to normalise at the earliest."The situation was similar to what some city localities, mostly in peripheral areas, had experienced in 2023 and 2024. During these two years, over 2.5 lakh domestic ACs were added in homes but only around 1 lakh consumers informed utility CESC that they were installing ACs. This year, CESC received applications for around 27,000 ACs in March and April.The challenge that the surge in demand posed to the network on Sunday was despite the addition of 300 new transformers based on the analysis of the situation last summer. This, CESC officials said, would accommodate an additional 1 lakh ACs, but consumers would still be required to inform the utility so that it could account for the additional incremental load in neighbourhoods.With nearly three weeks still to go in May and all of June — traditionally the most oppressive summer month — yet to come, CESC has launched a social media campaign to urge consumers to use ACs in a manner that will reduce the strain on the network. The utility is highlighting the power savings that will follow and the lower electricity bill at the end of the month without compromising on comfort. "We are encouraging customers to keep their ACs at 25°C rather than 20°C-22°C, while using fans to circulate the cool air. Being a tropical nation, India's population finds comfort in air movement," said CESC managing director (distribution) Vineet Sikka.According to the utility, this 2°C-3°C change in the domestic AC settings will be enough to stabilise the network on evenings when usage shoots up from unexpected quarters during a particularly bad patch of summer when the heat becomes unbearable. "The thermostat that switches off the AC as soon as the room temperature becomes 25°C will be enough to provide the relief needed when the network gets strained. If a few lakh ACs switch off and on, the network can be better managed," he said.In homes with multiple ACs, setting them at 25°C helps achieve load diversity. This means not all units need to run simultaneously, as the thermostat mechanism allows units to cycle on and off based on room temperature. This prevents network overload and reduces overall power consumption.Experts at the Bureau of Energy Efficiency also recommend maintaining a temperature of 25°C for optimal AC efficiency. The human body naturally adapts to temperatures between 24°C-25°C, especially when combined with proper air circulation. "Operating an AC at 25°C instead of 22°C over a six-hour period can reduce the running time by around 2 hours. That will lead to a 15%-20% reduction in electricity bill," said an energy conservation expert."In today's climate-conscious world, efficient AC usage has become crucial for both environmental sustainability and managing electricity bills. Setting the AC at 20°C causes the unit to operate continuously without frequent breaks, resulting in higher consumption of electricity. The optimal temperature for human comfort is 24°C. Operating an AC at 25°C-26°C along with a fan provides suitable comfort. Additionally, CESC is advising consumers to utilise the sleep mode function in ACs," said CESC executive director (distribution) Avijit Ghosh.