October alone saw a 21% jump from a year ago.
Demand is usually lower in these months than in the preceding summer months, but the deviation surprised the sector. August’s electricity consumption was 9% higher than in July and 12% higher than in May.
The highest-ever peak demand of 240 GW was met on September 1, against the anticipated peak of 229 GW for April.
August saw a 16.3% year-on-year increase in electricity consumption, while September recorded a 10.3% increase.
Peak demand in October was 221.6 GW, up 18.5% from 187 GW a year ago. As per the Central Electricity Authority‘s report in November 2022, peak demand for 2024-25 is likely to be 244.56 GW. However, peak demand in 2023-24 so far has been 240 GW, against the authority’s initial projection of 230.1 GW.
Irrigation
Irrigation load, especially from the southern states, played a major role in higher demand in these months, a government official told ET. In major parts of the country, monsoon was deficient this year.
“Rainfall has been deficient, and temperature has been higher than normal in October,” Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department, told ET.
Industrial activity
On the other hand, Fitch Ratings, in its latest report, attributed the recent increase in demand to “robust industrial activity”. “Fitch Ratings expects India’s power demand to increase by about 7% in FY24, following a 7.1% rise in the first half of the year, driven by robust industrial activity,” it said earlier this month.
Cooling appliances
Higher-than-normal temperatures and associated humidity kept air conditioners and other cooling appliances running throughout these months. Though there is no data to segregate demand based on appliance usage, some state distribution companies pointed to the increase in the use of air conditioners, led by temperature and humidity.
India recently said its target is 80 GW of thermal power capacity by 2031-32, as against the aim of around 50 GW earlier.
