Power demand touches all-time high of 182.89 GW, says secy S N Sahai

All-India power demand on Wednesday morning touched a record high of 182.89 gigawatts (GW), said Power Secretary S N Sahai.

"Today, the all-India demand for power touched 1,82,888 MW (megawatts), which is an all-time high (observed at 0948 hrs on December 30, 2020) crossing previous high of 1,82,610 at 1458 hours on May 30, 2019. The entire demand was met," Sahai said in a tweet.

According to data from the power ministry, the peak power demand met (the highest supply in a day) during December last year stood at 170.49 gigawatts (GW).

This is quite unprecedented, especially when the coronavirus pandemic has impacted all sectors in the country.

The government imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 25 to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Power demand started declining from April due to fewer economic activities in the country. The pandemic affected power demand for five months in a row from April to August this year.

Peak power demand met recorded negative growth from April to August this year, due to the pandemic. In March, it was muted at 0.8 per cent. It had dropped 24.9 per cent in April, 8.9 per cent in May, 9.6 per cent in June, 2.7 per cent in July and 5.6 per cent in August.

The power demand recovered from September onwards.

Peak power demand met grew at 1.7 per cent in September, 3.4 per cent in October and 3.5 per cent in November.