Power demand declined by 8.4% in March 2020 vs March 2019

The country’s power consumption has declined by 8.4 per cent to 99.38 BUs in March 2020 compared to 108.50 BUs in March 2019 on account of lower commercial and industrial demand due to the lockdown. The daily power demand dipped to an average of 112 GW during the initial weeks of lockdown, the lowest in six years, from 160 GW a year ago. About 65 GW of capacity is estimated to have been backed down. The spot power price also touched a three-year low of 60 paise per unit as of March 25, 2020 on the Indian Energy Exchange.