VIJAYAWADA: Noting that the state power utilities continue to meet the growing energy demand in the state, the energy department said that the consumption went up by 15 per cent in the first two weeks of May year-on-year despite the restrictions imposed in view of COVID-19. The department has also projected that the average consumption for entire May is expected to be 7 per cent higher than last May and it would be 13 per cent higher in June year on year.
It is pertinent to note that the consumption fell last year in view of the lockdown imposed in view of the first wave when all industrial and commercial activity had also come to a naught. This year, however, the state has imposed a partial curfew and the industrial consumption remained higher than last year in addition to the agriculture power load.
“The electricity consumption across the sectors in Andhra Pradesh has surged manifold in the last few days. The energy consumption in the first week of May, 2021, stood at 1,399 Million Units (MU), as against last year’s 1,139 MU in the corresponding period. This is a 23 per cent increase, while the national energy consumption increased by 25 per cent. There was a marginal drop in the consumption of May 15 and 16 due to rainfall in parts of the state,” the officials said in a statement issued on Sunday.
The energy demand for the month of May, 2021, is expected to be 190 MU per day, which is seven per cent higher than last May’s 177 MU/day. Similarly, the demand is expected to rise by 13 per cent in June, 2021, compared to energy consumption of 167 MU/day in June, 2020. “This clearly indicates that the economic activity in the state has picked up compared to last year. In fact, it is a good sign of progress. Taking all the precautionary steps in COVID, we will put all efforts to provide satisfactory services to all consumers,” energy secretary Srikant Naguapalli said during a telephonic review on power supply position, according to the statement.
