During the first half of July, electricity generation in India dropped at a slower rate than in June, provisional government data showed, as factories and commercial establishments opened up after the gradual easing of lockdowns.
Power production decreased by 3.1 per cent in the first 15 days of July compared to the same period last year, according to Reuters’ review of the day-to-day load dispatch data from POSOCO, the federal grid operator, compared to 9.9 per cent in June.
In the second half of June, electricity generation decreased by 5.3 per cent.
Though power consumption has risen since the previous months when India was under strict lockdown, the demand for electricity-which is influenced by seasonal changes-is still lower compared to the same periods in the previous year.
Industries and offices account for more than half of India ‘s annual power consumption. Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited electricity consumption to show that there are “greenshoots” in the Indian economy.
Major industrial states such as Maharashtra , Gujarat in the West and Tamil Nadu in the South have continued to see drastic declines in the usage of electricity in the higher incidence of coronavirus cases.
Nevertheless, several countries with smaller but larger industrial profiles have seen growth in power demand for the first time since Modi declared a national lockdown in March.
The northern state of Uttar Pradesh-India ‘s most populated and home to the largest number of medium-and small-scale enterprises ( SMEs) in the country-has seen a 10.1% increase in electricity usage.
Other states, including Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh-all of which are familiar to MYME-have seen an uptick in the demand for electricity.
Seasonal factors, including hot weather, could have fueled higher demand for power.
The states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have also seen an increase in coronavirus cases in recent days, which could have an effect on power demand. Bihar has also declared a lockdown starting on Thursday and ending on 31 July.
