Almost a month after the power demand in Punjab stayed over 10,000 MW and touched 14,000 MW many times in the past 15 days, there was a much-needed relief on Saturday as widespread rain led to a sharp decline in power consumption across the state.The rain spell in parts of Punjab ensured that power demand dipped to a record low of 4,721 MW on Saturday morning, giving much-needed relief to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) before the start of the paddy season on June 1.It also brought respite to consumers who had been facing scheduled and unscheduled power cuts amid soaring temperatures and rising electricity consumption.Demand, which was at 8,650 MW at 8.30 am, continued to slide through the morning and reached a low of 4,721 MW by noon.Following the drop in power demand, both state-owned and private thermal power plants were made to run at half load. Thermal generation stood at 1,350 MW, while private plants generated 1,624 MW. Solar generation contributed 157 MW.At one time, Punjab was under-drawing 3,752 MW from its schedule of more than 7,500 MW, a rarity during summer months.Last week, the maximum power demand and supply in Punjab remained high during heatwave conditions. Despite shift of office timings introduced earlier this week, peak demand remained between 13,600 MW and 13,850 MW, and daily power supply ranged from 2,592 lakh units (LU) to 2,782 LU.“Last week, power cuts were imposed on different consumer categories, including industrial category-II consumers to manage the demand and supply gap. The rain spell has provided some relief, but demand is expected to rise further given the start of the paddy season next week,” said a power engineer.Average power supply in the first 28 days of May stood at 2,294 LU against an official demand of 2,303 LU. During the corresponding period last year, average supply was 2,133 LU.Heatwave conditions earlier this month had caused dramatic, short-term spikes in demand, which shot up by more than 30 per cent in a span of six days.Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday revised its seasonal rainfall forecast downward from 92 per cent to 90 per cent of the long-period average and indicated a 60 per cent probability of a deficient season.“This means power demand will stay above 16,500 MW for most of the paddy season, which starts on June 1. We expect it to touch 18,000 MW this year, the highest ever recorded in Punjab,” a PSPCL official said.