Power consumption grows 2.6% to 112.67 billion units in January

India's power consumption grew marginally at 2.6 percent year-on-year to 112.67 billion units (BU) in January, demonstrating the impact of local restrictions imposed by states during the third wave of COVID-19.

Power consumption in January last year was 109.76 BU, which was 4.4 percent higher than 105.15 BU in January 2020, according to data from the Ministry of Energy.

According to the data, peak power demand or supply in a day rose to 192.07 GW in the reporting month compared to 189.39 GW in January 2021 and 170.97 GW in January 2020.

Experts believe that the slowdown in power consumption growth in the two weeks of January has highlighted the impact of local restrictions imposed by states during the third wave of COVID-19.

They considered that the local constraint had affected industrial and commercial demand.

The third wave of the pandemic hit the country in January 2022, forcing many states to impose local restrictions, such as night and weekend bans. They have also taken measures such as banning dining in bars and restaurants.

The experts believed electricity demand and consumption would improve in the coming months as many states now lift local restrictions after a decline in positive cases. Power consumption had grown 3.3 percent to 109.17 BU in December 2021, from 105.62 BU a year ago.

In November 2021, power consumption grew 2.5 percent to 99.32 BU from 96.88 BU a year ago. Many states had imposed lockdown restrictions after the second wave of the pandemic in April 2021, which affected the recovery of commercial and industrial demand for electricity.

The curbs were gradually lifted as the number of COVID cases dropped.

In July 2021, it rose to 123.72 BU, compared to 112.14 BU year-over-year, while power consumption increased more than 17 percent in August to 127.88 BU, compared to 109.21 BU in the same month a year ago.

Power consumption in September 2021 showed a flat growth of 112.43 BU, mainly due to the delayed monsoon.

In October 2021, power consumption grew 3.3 percent to 112.79 BU from 109.17 BU in the same month in 2020.