NEW DELHI: The first two weeks of November have recorded a steady rise in both power and fuel
consumption compared to the previous month, though diesel sales have fallen back below pre-Covid levels after having achieved the same in October. According to data from the power ministry, pan-India electricity consumption rose by 7.8 per cent year-on-year, hitting 50.15 billion units (BU) in the first half of November this year—up from 46.52 BU in the corresponding period of 2019.
The data indicates that November might be the third straight month where electricity consumption has increased on an annual basis. Pan-India power consumption had stood at 93.94 billion for the full month of November last year. The outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns brought industrial electricity demand crashing down during the summer.
Pan-India power consumption had contracted on a year-on-year basis by 8.7 per cent in March, 23.2 per cent in April, 14.9 per cent in May, 10.9 per cent in June, 3.7 per cent in July and 1.7 per cent in August. It was only in September that power consumption breached pre-Covid levels, growing 4.4 per cent year-on-year. October had seen an even sharper rise of 12 per cent to 109.53 BU, up from 97.84 BU in October 2019. The story is similar for transport fuels too.
The first two weeks of November saw petrol and diesel sales continue to improve compared to the previous month. Up to November 15, pan-India diesel sales stood at 2.86 million tonnes (MT) compared to 2.65 MT in last year. However, diesel sales slipped below the level recorded in 2019, down five per cent from 3.01 million tonnes.
Diesel sales had breached pre-Covid levels in October for the first time since March. As for petrol, consumption rose on a year-on-year basis to 1.03 million tonnes from 1.02 million tonnes, while LPG recorded its first year-on-year dip in sales (two per cent) falling to 1.07 million tonnes.
Aviation fuel sale tumbles
Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sales fell 53 per cent year-on-year, they rose a marginal 1.3 per cent month-on-month, data released by the government on Monday showed.