Team News Riveting
The All-India power demand on Wednesday morning touched a record high indicating India’s economic activities bouncing back to normal after slowdown caused due to COVID-19 pandemic.
“The peak demand for power crossed 1,85,820 Megawatt at 9:35 AM on today (Wednesday),” Union Power Minister Raj Kumar Singh said in a tweet. This is the highest ever, a record, he added.
The demand (and supply) of power in January (upto 19.01.2021) has grown by 8 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year. This is the highest rate of growth ever. The surging demand for power is a certain indicator that our economy is getting back on track, Singh said.
The surging demand also shows the success of Subhagya, under which they gave all homes including the poor and the under privileged access to power. “This is a matter of satisfaction for us in the Ministry of Power,” the minister added.
Power demand showed a downward trajectory from April as economic activities were disrupted in the country due to COVID-19. The slowdown continued for five months in a row from April to August 2020.
The power demand recovered from September 2020 onwards. Peak power demand met grew at 1.7 per cent in September, 3.4 per cent in October, 3.5 per cent in November and 7.3 per cent in December.