Power consumption grows 9.3% in June so far

Power consumption in the country grew by 9.3 per cent in the first half of June to 55.86 billion units (BU), indicating a slow recovery in commercial and industrial electricity demand, according to power ministry data.

Power consumption was recorded at 51.10 BU in the first half of June last year (June 1 to 15), the data showed. According to experts, the recovery in power consumption and demand was slow in the first half of June despite the low base of last year, which indicates a slow recovery in commercial and industrial demand.

In the entire June last year, power consumption slumped by nearly 11 per cent to 105.08 BU from 117.98 BU over the same month in 2019, mainly due to fewer economic activities amid Covid-induced restrictions. Experts are of the view that the recovery in power demand and consumption in the rest of June is not likely to be robust because of the early onset of Monsoon. In the first fifteen days of May (from May 1 to 15) this year, power consumption was 55.23 BU despite lockdown restrictions imposed by many states amid the second wave of Covid-19. Thus, a month-on-month comparison indicates that power consumption grew marginally by 1.14 percent in the first half of June.

Peak power demand met or the highest supply in a day witnessed a growth of over 6.6 per cent in the first half of June at 174.09 GW (recorded on June 9), compared to 163.30 GW on June 11 last year. Peak power demand met in the first half of June 2019 was 182.45 (recorded on June 14). The peak demand in the entire June (2020) slumped to 164.98 GW from 182.45 GW in the same month in 2019. Experts believe robust recovery in commercial and industrial power consumption as well as demand is likely from July onwards as many states are easing local restrictions amid a decline in number of daily new positive cases of Covid-19.