India’s peak demand for power slumped to 216.9 gigawatt (GW) in August against 240.5 GW registered in the same month of last year. The peak demand has also declined from its earlier peak of 249.8 GW registered in May when the temperature across the country rose drastically, data sourced from the Central Electricity Authority showed.
The decline in power consumption can be attributed to improved coverage of monsoon and increased rainfall which resulted in increased hydro power generation during the month. The country’s hydro generation stood at 21.49 billion kwh up from 17.56 billion kwh in July. Peak demand met during August stood at 216.68 GW.
Energy consumption during last month declined to 143.9 billion kwh, down 4% from 150 billion kwh in July. In August 2023, the country’s energy requirement stood at 153.9 billion kwh.
“Power demand should be around that range 250-255 GW going forward and we have shown that we are able to meet that. It may not be very difficult,” Vikram V, vice president and co-group head at Icra had said.
India registered a growth of 11% in its power demand in the first quarter of the current financial year 2024-25 due to extreme temperatures across the country and a favorable base, as per Icra.
The country received 287.1 mm of rainfall in August, up by as much as 16% against the normal of 248.1 mm for the month. Rainfall over the country during August was the fifth highest since 2001, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The above normal rains during the month aided in cooling temperatures, resulting in lower demand for power. Coal stocks at the country’s 184 thermal power plants stood at 39.8 million tonnes as on September 7, 74% of the normative stock level of 53.6 million tonnes, according to data from the national power portal.
Coal India and other captive mines cumulatively dispatched 412.07 million tonnes of coal up to August 2024, compared to 391.93 million tonnes during the same period in FY24, registering a growth of 5.14%.
The country generated 132,188.3 GW hours (GWh) of electricity in August against 137,594.4 GWh in August 2023.
The government however expects the peak demand to touch 260 GW in September or October, power secretary Pankaj Agarwal had earlier told reporters.
“The peak demand of 250 GW which we met this year, is estimated to reach 384 GW by 2031-32. This may easily cross 400 GW considering the way in which demand has increased in some states in the past two years,” Agarwal had said. He estimates a total installed power capacity of 900 GW by 2031-32 to meet the projected demand.