India’s annual power demand seen falling for first time in almost four decades: Moody’s unit

CHENNAI: India’s electricity demand during the current financial year is seen falling for the first time in at least 36 years, ratings agency Moody’s unit ICRA said on Wednesday, a blow to utilities and state-run Coal India Ltd .

ICRA expects annual electricity demand to fall 1% during the year ending March 2021 due to the impact of a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, ICRA said in a statement.

The decline would be the first since fiscal year 1985, and government data preceding that was unavailable.