Billions have been confined between their walls and are lost in their devices due to the COVID-19 crisis. In these unprecedented times, the irreplaceable role of electricity in modern lifestyle has been highlighted. In India, the maximum daily load of electricity was 162 GW on March 22nd. However, this load dropped by 41 GW to 121 GW by March 31 after the announcement of the much needed lockdown. While the share of fossil-based dispatch has gone down substantially, renewable power, being a priority dispatch, has largely maintained its supply.
The spirit of Indian entrepreneurs along with proactive government policies has driven the growth of the energy sector in recent years. Despite the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 lockdown, state-owned NHPC Ltd auctioned 2 gigawatts of solar projects at tariffs (Rs.2.552) below the 2019 average. The auction was reportedly (BloombergNEF) oversubscribed and saw strong competition during the price bidding.
