Power demand falls 4.28 pc in November

Power demand in the country dipped for the fourth straight month by 4.28 percent to 94.6 billion units (BU) in November, mainly due to weather shifts. According to data from the Central Electricity Authority, the demand had stood at 98.84 BU in November 2018.

"Power demand is down mainly because of the early onset of winters and extended monsoon this year. Last year, air conditioners were used until early December. That is not the case this year," a senior power ministry official told PTI. According to the data, the power demand shrank from 12.94 percent to 98.36 BU in October this year compared to the year-ago month. The demand in October 2018 had stood at 112.98 BU.

The demand started declining from August this year when it fell 0.53 percent to 112.1 BU in the month compared to 112.71 BU a year ago. Before that, the power demand grew 6.72 percent in July this year to 117.22 BU, against 109.83 BU in the year-ago month. The data showed that during April-July this fiscal, the power demand grew 7.2 percent to 467.02 BU compared to 435.64 BU in the corresponding period a year ago.

However, during April-November 2019, power demand rose 1.21 percent to 880.35 BU, compared with 869.76 BU in the same month a year ago. An Indian Energy Exchange official also said the fall in power demand is mainly because of weather shift and partly due to slowdown in industrial activities which is reflected in industrial production data.

The Index of Industrial Production, which captures factory output in the country, contracted by 1.4 percent in August and 4.3 percent in September. There is an economic slowdown in the country as the economic growth decelerated to over six-year low of 4.5 percent in the July-September quarter this fiscal. The GDP growth deceleration continued for the sixth straight quarter in July-September this fiscal since the April-June quarter last year.