Sept power demand up 3% over last year | Economic Times

NEW DELHI: India’s electricity demand in September increased about 3% year-on-year, signalling improved economic activity albeit on a low base. Demand in August was 2% lower than that a year ago.Power demand on several days of September was higher than that a year ago, data available with grid operator Power System Operation Corporation (Posoco) showed.Demand in industrial states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra improved over last year’s but was lower than in September 2018. India had registered a slump in power consumption for five months from August 2019 till January this year.In Gujarat, power demand improved 4% year-on-year while in Maharashtra it was down 1%. In Maharashtra and Gujarat, electricity demand was about 9% lower than in August 2019. In July this year, Maharashtra had reported a 12% slump in its power demand year-on-year while demand in Gujarat was down 17%.Electricity demand from northern states such as Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir continued to be high.In September, demand in Goa was about 17% lower, in Daman & Diu 2% and in Dadra Nagar Haveli 5% from that a year ago. The other states to have reported reductions in electricity demand year-on-year in September are Karnataka (13%), Odisha (5%) and Delhi (about 3%).Electricity consumption in Tamil Nadu was 2% lower year-on-year, while in Telangana it fell 3%.Demand improved more than 20% in Madhya Pradesh, 6% in Bihar and 12% in Jammu & Kashmir.India’s power demand grew at the slowest pace of 1.1% in 2019. In December 2019, the country’s power demand fell 0.5% from the year-ago period, representing the fifth straight month of decline, compared with a 4.3% fall in November 2019.