India’s Peak Power Demand Hits The Highest Ever 185 GW, Indicates Economic Recovery: Union Minister RK Singh

Hinting at a rapid economic recovery, India’s electricity demand touched a record 185 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday, reports LiveMint.

The previous record of 182 GW was witnessed on 30 December. And India’s peak demand in FY 2019 was just 168 GW.

“The peak demand for power crossed 1,85,820 Megawatt at 9.35 AM today. This is the highest ever, a record," power and new and renewable energy minister R K Singh tweeted on Wednesday (20 January).

“The demand (and supply) of power in January (up to 19 January) has grown by 8 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of last year. This is the highest rate of growth ever. The surging demand for power is a certain indicator that our economy is getting back on track," Singh said in a tweet.

The minister opined that the surging demand indicates the success of the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) scheme, under which the Modi government aims to provide electricity connections to all homes including the poor and the underprivileged. R K Singh said that it is a matter of satisfaction for us in the Ministry of Power.

Other economic indicators, such as refineries, goods and GST collections, and railway freight volumes too have shown the signs of rapid revival.

It is also noteworthy that the BSE Sensex on Thursday (21 January) opened above the 50,000-mark in a landmark development as it crossed the psychological barrier for the first time in its history.