Power demand is expected to decline by around 8 per cent in 2020-21 due to a steep fall in demand from commercial and industrial segments on the back of the pandemic induced nationwide lockdown, according to a report.
According to the report published by Emkay Global Financial Services, the fall in demand is likely to result in a 13.1 per cent year-on-year decline in revenue of discoms to Rs 6,800 billion in 2020-21. Further, the agency estimates that the gap between average cost of supply and average revenue realised in 2020-21 is expected to increase to Rs 0.95 per unit from Rs 0.50 per unit in 2019-20, translating to an under-recovery of Rs 1,120 billion.