Power demand in the country touched an all-time high of 99,027 MW recently and is poised to top 100,000 MW shortly. The new peak demand marks a year-on-year growth of over 16% in electricity demand. Last year, the peak demand that was met in the country around this time stood at approximately 84,885 MW.
The rise in electricity demand in India stands in sharp contrast to the situation in the US where overall power consumption is expected to decline by over 1.4% this year, while consumption by industrial units is expected to slump over 6%. US power consumption has been rising almost uninterrupted for 25 years until the 2008 recession.
China’s power demand too had shrunk by over 4% year-on-year in the first four months of the current fiscal under the impact of the global economic downturn.
In India, which normally faces a peak shortage in the region of about 12%, the new peak has been possible due to increased supply.
Data on industrial production for the last couple of months too have been showing a rising trend for power generation. This has been accompanied by a growth in the output of key manufacturing sectors such as cement and coal, both major consumers of electricity.
