New Delhi: According to power ministry data, India’s power consumption in the first week of August 2021 grew 9.3 per centto touch 28.08 billion units (BU) due to an improvement in economic activities after the easing of lockdown curbs by states.
During the same period in 2020, the power consumption stood at 25.69 BU, up from the 25.18 BU clocked in the corresponding period of 2019.
Similarly, during the entire month of August 2020, the power consumption was close to 109.21 BU, lower than the 111.52 BU reported during the same month in 2019.
Experts believe the recovery in power consumption in the first week of August 2021 has shown consistency, along with signs of further improvement as many states have eased lockdown restrictions for boosting economic activities.
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The power consumption is likely to go up due to higher commercial and industrial demand in the coming days, provided the economic recovery is not stalled by another wave of the pandemic, experts opine.
Meanwhile, the peak power demand stood highest at 188.59GW between Aug 1- Aug7, 2021, which has witnessed a demand surge of around 14% against 165.42 GW supplied in the same duration last year.
While in August 2020, the peak demand stood at 167.52GW, significantly lower than the 177.52 GW supplied in the same month of 2019. This data is enough to show the impact of the pandemic on power demand.
As per the power ministry latest data, power consumption in June 2021 rose by nearly 9 per cent to touch 114.48 BU, against 105.08 BU in the same period last year in 2020. In July 2021, it reported a rise of 11 per cent to clock 124.42 BU of consumption, as compared to 112.14BU in July 2020.
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Demand surge is also witnessed, in July and August, since during the southwest monsoon peak season, northern India has witnessed scanty rainfall leading to the rise in air conditioning usage.
