Saubhagya Impact? Peak Power Demand Breaches 180 GW Mark For The First Time In India

Peak power demand in the country has breached the 180 GW mark for the first time in October, Financial Express has reported. The peak power demand (180.4 GW) this year was 9.8 per cent higher than the highest level recorded in the financial year 2018. The country consumed 115.6 billion units (BU) in October. This was 14 per cent higher than the corresponding month last year.

The highest rise in power consumption (year-on-year) was recorded in Telangana (42 per cent). Karnataka (31 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (27 per cent), Maharashtra (27 per cent), Odisha (26 per cent), Chattisgarh (22 per cent) were other states that recorded high rise in power consumption.

The rise in power demand has been aided by the rising number of electricity connections under the Saubhagya scheme. Pickup in industrial power demand and drop in power cuts are other causes for the rise in power consumption. The average duration of power cuts was 7 hours and 8 minutes in October 2018, 1 hour 5 minutes shorter than October 2017.

The higher power demand is also a good news for private sector power producers who have close to 20,000 MW power generation capacity stranded in absence of power purchase agreements.