We are capable of handling whatever power demand is, says RK Singh

• 'The great thing is that power demand has increased. It shows that the economy is growing at 9 percent'
• 'We are capable of handling whatever the demand is'

New Delhi: Power Minister RK Singh has exuded confidence in meeting India's growing power demand ahead of the summer and monsoon season, when demand peaks to record highs every year. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Clean Energy Ministerial on Thursday, the minister said that the growth in power demand is reflective of India's economic growth. "The great thing is that power demand has increased. It shows that the economy is growing at 9 percent. Power consumption is an indicative of economic growth. We are capable of handling whatever the demand is," said Singh.

Rise in power demand

According to the last year's figures, India's power demand has been on the rise. During FY22, the national peak power demand hit an all-time high of 200.5 GW, with a 5.5 percent growth, while the peak power demand met in March 2020 and March 2021 stood at 170.16 GW and 185.89 GW, respectively. Electricity consumption stood at 1371.7 billion units (BU) in FY22.

Between April 1 and 5, power plants registered power generation of 212.34 BU. 

According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), coal stock with thermal power plants stood at 24.7 Million Tonnes (MT), which is 37 percent of the normative stock requirement. Non-pithead thermal power plants had 29 percent of the required coal stock. However, on being asked about the same, the minister said that India is well-placed to meet its power demand.

Cyber Attack

On being asked about suspected Chinese State-sponsored hackers targeting the power grid in Ladakh, Singh said, "Our defence against cyber attack is strong. These were probing attacks between December and February. They did not succeed. But we are aware."

"We had put protocols in place and we are strengthening them everyday. So, our defence against cyber attack is strong," he added.

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