Allocation of power connections but a steady decline in energy production

New delhi date. October 12, 2019, Saturday

For the first time, the country has witnessed a decline in power generation under the new Index of Industrial Production, with a base year of 1-2. Despite the fact that every household in the country is covered by electricity connection, electricity production has declined.

Electricity production declined by 8 per cent on August 9 compared to August 1. The decline may have been seen as the states may have avoided meeting domestic electricity demand, a power sector expert said.

Electricity demand was expected to increase by up to 5.5 per cent during the time of the surge due to the increase in power connections but instead it has seen a decrease.

In Gujarat, Rajasthan and Nagaland, the demand for electricity is less than 5%. Similarly in the state of Punjab, Maharashtra, Orissa and Arunachal Pradesh, electricity was supplied less than five to seven percent of the demand.

This means that the supply has not increased as demand has increased, he added. Compared to August 5, wind energy production declined by 5 percent in August of the current year.

In some states, industrial depression and the financial strain of power distribution companies could be responsible for this situation, said another expert. Discoms have been challenged by some states forcing them to make advance payments or provision of letters of credit to buy discos from states. Under the Center's goodwill scheme, 2.2 new domestic electricity connections were made available from October 1 across the country. Prior to that, electricity connections had already been made in the country of 8.5 million households.