India's electricity demand is getting closer to pre-locking rates due to heat wave conditions across the world, a sigh of relief for thermal power plants that have worked at the lowest capacity ever in the last two months.
Data available from the Power System Operation Corporation (Posoco) shows that power demand rose from less than 3,000 million units per day during the lockout to about 3,400 million units now.
Experts said the demand could have reached some 3,550 million units per day, but the consumption of Cyclone Amphan from the eastern region has decreased over the last two days. On May 23, the demand amounted to 3.656 million units compared to 3.944 million units on May 25, 2019.
Total peak-hour electricity demand was 157 GW, similar to pre-Covid but 12 per cent lower than last year. The peak hour demand may have reached the pre-locking point of 165 GW, but for the cyclone.
After the nation-wide lockout, energy demand had fallen by 30%.
Deloitte India partner Debashish Mishra said that, from almost-30 per cent in mid-April, it is encouraging to see demand for power fall back to last year's level. "Industrial demand has rebounded with increased manufacturing activities. The conditions of the heat wave have increased residential demand, possibly more than last year's levels. Even commercial demand is likely to be much lower by more than 50% even now with schools, malls and other commercial establishments mostly closed down, "he said.
AlekhyaDatta, a convenor of the electricity and fuel division at the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), said that Delhi's peak-hour load had reached 5,000 mw on Saturday.
“In June, if temperature further rises and lockdown restrictions are eased, Delhi's peak-hour demand will cross last year's 7,400-plus mw or more. The pan-India demand is likely to reach 180-185 GW, depending on weather conditions and ease of restrictions. Residential load will further increase due to work from home arrangements, virtual classes etc.,” he said.
During the lockout, the stressed thermal power sector was the biggest loser in the power market, with the capacity utilization of coal-fired power plants dropping to 42 percent in April from 63.1 percent in the same time last year. Private thermal power stations operated at 44 per cent , compared to 58 per cent in April 2019.
