‘COVID wave may hit energy demand in first quarter’

Low-base effect may lead to y-o-y growth: Ind-Ra report

May 07, 2021 03:39 am | Updated 03:39 am IST - NEW DELHI

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 29/10/2019: A view of the NTPC Simhadri Thermal Power Station, in Visakhapatnam on October 29, 2019. BHEL will launch work on 25 MW floating solar power plant at Simhadri Thermal Power Station at a cost of Rs.100 crore. The plant will be installed in the raw water reservoir of NTPC at Deepanjalinagar near Parawada. Photo: K.R. Deepak / The Hindu

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 29/10/2019: A view of the NTPC Simhadri Thermal Power Station, in Visakhapatnam on October 29, 2019. BHEL will launch work on 25 MW floating solar power plant at Simhadri Thermal Power Station at a cost of Rs.100 crore. The plant will be installed in the raw water reservoir of NTPC at Deepanjalinagar near Parawada. Photo: K.R. Deepak / The Hindu

Restrictions following the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic could impact recovery in the growth in energy demand in the first quarter of this financial year, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said.

In the April 2021 edition of its credit news digest on India’s power sector, the agency highlighted trends in the power sector, with a focus on capacity addition, generation, transmission, merchant power, deficit, regulatory changes and the recent rating actions by the ratings agency.

Ind-Ra said lockdowns on account of an increase in COVID-19 cases in various States could impact energy demand growth recovery in April-June 2022. However, all-India energy demand is expected to be higher year-on-year due to the low base effect as the country was under a stricter lockdown during the same period in 2020.

‘Price per unit rises’

The short-term power price at the Indian Energy Exchange continued its improving trend ₹4.07 per unit compared with ₹2.46 a year earlier, with average monthly price in April 2021 at ₹3.7.

Electricity generation rose 23.5% on a yearly basis to 118.6 billion units in March 2021, supported by 29.2% growth in thermal generation, although hydro generation fell 7.8%. Generation from renewable sources climbed 10.1% to 11.9 billion units in March 2021, with solar generation rising 21%.

The improvement in energy demand has helped the thermal plant load factor (PLF) increase to 66.5% in March 2021, from 51.5% a year earlier and 63.3% in February, it said.

Despite the onset of summer, stricter lockdowns in major manufacturing States could impact demand from the industrial segment, in turn affecting thermal PLFs, the agency said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.