Green Shoots: Power demand recovers, but commercial use still below par

The fourth of the five-part series looks at how demand is returning to near normal levels

The power sector has recovered from the lockdown with demand returning to about 90 per cent of its usual peak levels.

The last two months have seen a sharp uptake, in contrast with April when a fourth of the usual demand vanished.

Residential demand is intact and industrial demand has recovered at a rapid rate. Commercial demand, a major contributor to state distribution companies’ finances, however, continues to be low.  

In June, India’s energy requirement was at 105.61 billion units, compared to 118.57 billion units in the same month a year ago. That is a fall of 11 per cent,