India’s power consumption rose to 110.94 billion units (BU) in October 2020 according to data from the Power System Operation Corporation Limited. This is 13.38 per cent higher than 97.84 BU electricity consumption reported in October 2019.
The spurt in consumption is on the back of Covid-19 lockdowns being eased and commercial activities picked up again.
Sector watchers say the increased consumption is coming because of States like Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, where electricity consumption is higher than 2019.
This trend is also roughly being followed in peak demand. This could be due to a variety of factors — such as agriculture pump-sets being used for irrigation (with the onset of the rabi season). Another factor could be employees from service hubs like Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad having moved back to their hometowns (due to the lockdown and continued closure of offices), leading to an increased residential electricity usage.