The demand for electricity in India will be reduced by 7 to 17 per cent due to covid-19 by 2025, according to a new study by TERI. All 10 of India’s largest power-consuming countries will see demand dropping between 5% and 15%, he said.
However, Union Power Minister RK Singh said that he was not worried about the effect of the lockout, and that he expected demand to pick up. “Despite the lockdown, we have rebounded and will continue to do so. I don’t see electricity demand suffering in the long term. It will grow at a slower pace, but it will be back,” he said, talking at the launch of the report.
The study, titled ‘Bending the Curve: 2025 Forecasts for Electricity Demand by Sector and State in the Light of COVID Epidemic,’ also indicates that policy makers, developers, distribution companies and investors need to be better prepared for the future if demand growth continues to decline.
“In particular, the financial health of Discoms and the sustainability of the prevailing cross-subsidy may be even more pressing issues in a mid-term scenario of sustained muted growth in commercial and industrial demand,” said the report.
The study also does not rule out a downward revision in the future. “More severe scenarios, entailing a downward revision in demand of greater than 15 per cent relative to trend, cannot be excluded, and are potentially becoming likelier,” the report concluded.
