Power Consumption Sees Modest 1.8% Growth In April-June Quarter

According to government data, power consumption in India experienced a marginal year-on-year growth of 1.8 per cent in the April-June quarter, reaching 407.76 billion units. The slower growth was primarily attributed to factors like unseasonal rains, the Biparjoy cyclone, and heavy Monsoon downpours during this period. In comparison, power consumption in the same quarter of 2022 was 400.44 billion units, registering a substantial growth of 17.6 per cent compared to the previous year's 340.37 billion units.

Peak power demand also saw a slight increase from 215.88 GW in April-June 2022 to 223.23 GW in the same period in 2023. However, the growth in peak power demand remained subdued during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The power ministry had estimated the country's electricity demand to reach 229 GW during the summer, but it fell short of this projection due to the impact of unseasonal rains, the Biparjoy cyclone, and heavy Monsoon downpours.

To mitigate potential supply constraints and avoid outages, the ministry took measures such as urging imported coal-based power plants to run at full capacity and directing coal-based plants to import dry fuel for blending to avert shortages. Industry experts noted that the demand for electricity decreased as people used fewer cooling appliances during April-June 2023 compared to the previous year.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data revealed a contraction of 0.1 per cent in electricity generation during the April-May period compared to a growth of 17.4 per cent in the same period in 2022. Power generation growth remained nearly flat at 0.9 per cent in May and contracted by 1.1 per cent in April this year. The impact of rains on power generation was evident in the IIP data, which also contributed to the subdued growth of electricity consumption in the country during the first quarter of the fiscal year.

Overall, the power sector faced challenges during the April-June quarter, but various measures were implemented to ensure uninterrupted supply and manage the effects of adverse weather conditions on electricity consumption and generation.