Heat, monsoon deficit pushes power demand in Haryana; angry villagers stage protests over blackouts

Haryana saw a surge in electricity consumption on Saturday as prolonged monsoon deficit and sweltering heat increased demand across the state. Long, unplanned outages have been reported in several districts in recent days. Angry villagers staged protests and blocked roads in Bhiwani, Hisar, Panipat, Fatehabad and Charkhi Dadri.

Both distribution companies recorded a year-on-year jump in consumption of 32.18%. Total utilization across Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) rose to 3,135.42 lakh units on July 18, up from 2,372.05 lakh units on the same day last year – an increase of 763.37 lakh units.

In the DHBVN area comprising Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal, consumption reached 1,763.70 lakh units, the highest figure for the month so far. This is a 1.82% increase from July 17 (1,732.16 million units) and 37.56% more than July 18, 2025 (1,282.10 million units).

Mahendragarh district saw the steepest increase in DHBVN at 72.34% compared to last year. Delhi DHBVN zone recorded 1,065.53 million units and Hisar zone 698.17 million units.

UHBVN, which serves North Haryana, reported 1,371.72 million units on Saturday — up 4.78% from the previous day and 25.65% from last year (1,089.95 million units).

Kaithal saw the biggest jump in UHBVN at 33.97% compared to last year. Consumption in Rohtak zone of UHBVN was 793.66 million units and Panchkula zone was 578.06 million units.

Energy Minister Anil Vij said the demand is increasing due to intense summer, higher agricultural load and industrial activity. “Despite this, the government has ensured uninterrupted supply through advance planning, power procurement, strengthening the transmission network and modern load management,” he said.

DHBVN and UHBVN Executive Director Vikram Singh said field officers have been instructed to continuously monitor substations and feeders. “Additional transformers, equipment and manpower have been made available to ensure that consumers do not face any inconvenience,” he added.

Published – 20 Jul 2026 0:38 IST