State’s energy consumption rises by 15% in May first fortnight despite pandemic

Even amidst the raging Covid-19 second wave, electricity consumption has increased by 15% in the first fortnight of May compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Andhra Pradesh’s electricity demand surged to 196 million units per day during this first fortnight, as against the last year’s 170 MU per day.

According to the state officials, the energy demand for this month is expected to be an average 190 MU per day. The lockdown and pandemic-induced disruptions had reduced the electricity demand in 2020. But the economy or the industries have not been much impacted by the second wave, leading to the surge.

The energy consumption in the first week of May was 1,399 million units, as against 1,139 MU in the first week of May last year, representing a 23% increase. The national energy consumption peaked by 25% during this same period. In what could be an indicator of economic revival, the discoms expect that the electricity demand would increase by 12% even in June.

State energy secretary Srikant Naguapalli said that meeting the growing energy demand is not a constraint for the power utilities of Andhra Pradesh.