As India faces a lockdown and industries are disrupted due to the spread of coronavirus, the daily power consumption in the country fell by 22 per cent – to an average of about 2,745 GWh per day during the first lockout period (March 25 – April 14) from about an average of total of 3,500 GWh per day, this being the consumption during the week to March 21 (before the janata curfew on March 22)
The discoms are facing a dual challenge – low demand for power and inability to collect money from consumers due to lockdown. As a result, citing force majeure clause in their agreements with the power generating companies, they have stopped payments to them. The discoms have also stopped / reduced drawing power from them.
