India's power consumption rises nearly 9% to 152.38 billion units in June

India's Power Consumption Rises by Nearly 9 Percent in June Due to Scorching Heat

New Delhi: India's power consumption rose by nearly 9 percent to 152.38 billion units (BU) in June compared to the year-ago period, mainly due to the scorching heat that forced excessive use of cooling appliances like air conditioners and desert coolers.

In June 2023, power consumption stood at 140.27 BU, according to official data.

The highest supply in a day (peak power demand met) also rose to 245.41 GW in June 2024, compared to 223.29 GW in the same month last year. The peak power demand was recorded at 224.10 GW in June 2023.

The peak power demand touched an all-time high of 250.20 GW in May this year. The previous all-time high peak power demand of 243.27 GW was recorded in September 2023.

Earlier this year, the power ministry projected a peak power demand of 235 GW during the daytime and 225 GW during evening hours for May, and 240 GW during the daytime and 235 GW during evening hours for June 2024.

The ministry also estimated that peak power demand might hit 260 GW this summer.

Experts indicated that the scorching heat and humidity in the latter part of June, due to the arrival of monsoon rains in many parts of the country, forced people to excessively use cooling appliances like air conditioners and desert coolers.

This led to an increase in power consumption as well as a growth in power demand in the country, they pointed out.

They also mentioned that the demand for power and consumption would remain steady in the coming days due to high humidity, making the use of air conditioners inevitable.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), conditions are favorable for the further advance of the Southwest Monsoon into the remaining parts of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana during the next 2-3 days.

Monsoon is likely to cover the entire country in the next three days, as per the latest bulletin on Monday.