India has crossed the benchmark of 180 gigawatt (GW) in peak power demand, which was 9.8% higher than the highest level recorded in Financial Year 2018. It is evident of spurting industrial activity and has reversed the trends in energy demand and power sector. Peak power demand increase was just 2.6% between FY15 and FY18.
The electricity consumption in the country in October was 115.6 billion units. Which was 14% higher than last year. On the other hand, the year-on-year rise in electricity requirement in October 2017 was only meagre 3%.
Telangana was at number one in energy consumption increase, with 42% more consumption. It was followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
These indices are a testimony of the level of the success government scheme, Saubhagya has achieved. Apart from a pick-up in industrial production, a reduction in the average duration of power cuts also played a role. The average duration of power cuts was 7 hours and 8 minutes in October 2018, 1 hour 5 minutes shorter than October 2017.
The report also says that the peak increase in demand is structured and not seasonal. It is evident from past year increase percentage.
More than 2 crore households have been connected under the Saubhagya scheme since its launch in October 2017. The project was announced in September 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said that the aim was to complete the electrification process by December 2018.
India currently depends majorly on coal for its electricity production. On the other note, India is also making robust infrastructure required to produce renewable and clean energy. India’s installed power generating capacity stood at 346 GW in June 2018, with the renewable contribution of 71 GW.
With increased investments and clean energy installations, as well as the world’s largest renewables auction market, India ranks 2nd after Chile in the 2018 Climatescope report by energy researcher BloombergNEF. India is the second-largest destination for attracting clean energy investments.
