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India’s solar and gas-fired electricity generation rose in April even as overall power demand fell at the steepest monthly rate in at least thirteen years, a Reuters analysis of provisional government data showed.
Solar-powered electricity generation rose 16.9%, accounting for a record 5.6% of the country’s total output, while gas-fired power output was 13.7% higher, an analysis of daily load despatch data from state-run power operator POSOCO showed. However, wind-powered electricity generation fell 11.4%.
Electricity generation from coal – India’s primary source of electricity – fell 32.3% to 1.91 billion units per day, the data showed, with its contribution to overall electricity generation falling to 65.5%, compared with an average of over 73.7% last year.
“Solar production was ramped up in the southern states, while gas-fired power plant operators in the west used cheap imported gas to address peak demand,” a senior power ministry official said, adding that many coal-fired utilities were shut for maintenance.
India – the world’s second-largest consumer, importer and producer of coal and the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter – expects to remain heavily dependent on coal for electricity but has pledged that clean energy will account for at least 40% of its installed capacity by 2030, up from about 22% now.
Overall electricity use fell by about 24% in April, the data from POSOCO showed, as all industries and offices not categorized “essential” were shut as a part of a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
With the lockdown extended with certain relaxations for another two weeks, state-run Coal India Ltd might face higher inventory and lower sales, while Indian utilities could face more financial stress.
Utilities were suffering from a prolonged industrial slowdown before the pandemic struck, with electricity demand rising only 1.2% during the fiscal year ending March 2020 – the second slowest growth rate since 1984/85.
