Despite COVID-19 crisis, peak power demand in FY21 surpassed previous year's levels by 3.5%: Govt

As per the data shared, peak demand for April-June 2021 rose by 16.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Peak power demand in 2020-21 exceeded that of 2019-20 by 3.5 percent, while peak demand met rose by 3.8 percent year-on-year, Power Minister RK Singh said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on July 22.

"The peak power demand in the country during the financial year 2020-21 had not declined, but rather increased by 3.5 percent as compared to the previous financial year," Singh said.

"By the end of the financial year 2020-21, in January 2021, the peak demand in the country had not only recovered but with a peak demand of 190,198 MW, surpassed the previous year’s peak demand of 183,804 MW which, occurred during the year 2019-20, in the month of June, 2019," he said.

The lockdown in the country had led to a decline in the peak demand, with the highest impact of 25 percent decline in the month of April 2020 year-on-year, Singh said. However, as the lockdown norms were gradually relaxed, peak demand started growing. The Peak Demand in 2021-22 (upto June) as compared to previous year 2020-21 has also shown a positive growth, he said.

As per the data shared, peak demand for April-June 2021 rose by 16.2 percent compared to the same period last year.