New Delhi: Power Minister RK Singh said on Friday that all-India peak power demand has breached the previous record to settle at 187.30 GW, indicating a recovery in economic activities. Sharing the news on Twitter, Singh said, "A fresh record has been created in Power Demand breaching the previous record of 1,85,820 MW which was created on 20/01/2021. Today the power demand touched 1,87,300 MW at 10:28 am. This again underscores the growing strength of our economy."
The demand and supply of power in January (up to January 19) has grown by 8 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the last year. Commenting on the previous record-high demand of 185.82 GW on January 20, Singh had said, "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." Increase in electricity consumption is considered to be a reliable indicator of increase in economic/industrial activity.
The nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Coronavirus had caused a sharp drop in demand for power as industrial activity had come to a standstill. Between April-August 2020, peak power demand had registered a negative growth. However, a recovery was seen September 2020 onwards as peak power demand rose by 1.7 percent, to 3.4 percent in October, 3.5 percent in November and 7.3 percent in December 2020.
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