How Covid has amplified power sector crisis

For a sector that was already tottering, Covid-19, and the subsequent total lockdown, could well be the last nail in the coffin. The power sector, whose problems with distribution are well known, had been going through a severe crisis even before Covid-19, due to the state of the economy. Power consumption (measured in billion units) has been falling since the second last quarter of FY20. While January 2020 figures shows an increase on a year-to-year basis by about 2.6%, the corresponding figures for October to December 2019 are -12.4%, -5.7%, and -1.6%, respectively. Figures beyond January 2020 are yet to be released by the Central Electricity Authority. Low demand for power in the economy is having a ripple effect, both in the upstream and downstream sectors. This has resulted in coal piling up in the generating stations and the generators showing an unwillingness to buy the contracted amount of coal, passing on part of the stress to the coal sector.