DMRC's Two Peaks: Sizing BESS for the Evening Load

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) runs on two peaks.

• Peak 1: 8AM–12PM. Solar covers it well.
• Peak 2: 6PM–10PM. Solar is gone. DISCOM takes over.

For a network consuming thousands of Million Units annually — spread across Delhi, UP and Haryana — that evening peak is expensive, structurally recurring, and growing.

You cannot solve this with more solar

Adding solar shifts the morning equation. The evening peak remains entirely DISCOM-dependent unless it is paired with storage sized precisely for that non-solar discharge window.

The sizing knife-edge

Get the sizing wrong and the economics break in one of two directions:

• Oversize, and the blended tariff crosses DISCOM rates, making the entire case unviable
• Undersize, and you miss the peak that justifies the CAPEX in the first place

DMRC's load profile makes this unusually hard: sharp traction peaks, strong variability, and multi-state dynamics where a configuration that works for Delhi does not automatically work for UP or Haryana.

What bankable sizing actually requires

Solving this required more than a spreadsheet. We ran the problem through our in-house AI BESS Simulation Platform — stress-testing hundreds of Solar + BESS configurations across every seasonal and day-type combination, identifying the point where renewable penetration, tariff viability and long-term economics align.

That is what bankable BESS sizing looks like. Not a thumb rule. Not a vendor quote. A simulation built on actual load data and real tariff orders, with an engine that accounts for degradation, round-trip efficiency losses, deviation settlement exposure and augmentation over a 25-year horizon.

Why this is becoming a regulatory question too

What DMRC solved for at institutional scale is turning into a regulatory reality across states. As Maharashtra, UP and Haryana tighten limits on power banking, co-located BESS changes the equation — making RE economics work in markets where banking rules have always made them fragile.

If you want to understand what the right RE + BESS configuration looks like for your specific plant, we offer feasibility assessments for C&I customers and Solar EPCs. Write to contact@ingroenergy.com to set up a call.