India power demand falls for first time in 35 years

CHENNAI : India’s annual electricity demand fell for the first time in at least 35 years in the fiscal year to March, government data reviewed by Reuters showed, mainly due to strict coronavirus-induced lockdowns across the country.

Power demand fell 1% during the year ended March 2021, the data showed, mainly due to the imposition of lockdowns that resulted in a decline in electricity consumption for six straight months ending in August.

Demand for electricity has picked up since, and generation grew 23.3% in March from a year earlier, a Reuters analysis of daily load despatch data from federal grid operator POSOCO showed, making it the seventh consecutive monthly increase and the fastest since March 2010.