Unrelenting heat in India pushes April power demand to record high

New Delhi, May 2 (BNA): India’s electricity demand hit a record in April, as its northern states reeled under the hottest pre-summer months in decades, with a surge in air conditioner use causing the worst power crisis in more than six years.

A Reuters analysis of government data showed electricity demand grew 13.2 percent to 135.4 billion kilowatt-hours, with electricity demand in the north growing between 16 percent and 75 percent.

Electricity use is expected to increase as India’s Met Office forecast temperatures above normal maximum temperatures in most parts of the midwest, northwest, north and northeast, Reuters reported.

Scientists have warned that neighboring India and Pakistan have experienced extreme temperatures this year and more than a billion people are at risk from the heat, linking the early start of a sweltering summer to climate change.

The unprecedented use of electricity led to widespread blackouts in April, as utilities scrambled to manage demand as coal supplies dwindled. Energy supply fell short of demand by 2.41 billion units, or 1.8%, the worst since October 2015.

Government data showed that energy demand in Delhi rose by 42% in April, with electricity demand in northern states such as Punjab and Rajasthan growing by 36% and 28%, respectively.

Rising temperatures lead to a 74.7% increase in electricity use by Sikkim, a small mountainous state in the northeast famous for its picturesque mountains.

Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, two other mountainous states crowded with tourists looking to retreat from the heat of the plains, have seen an increase in energy demand by more than a sixth due to the warming.

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The data showed that other northern states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand in the east saw electricity demand rise by more than 25%.

Seven states, including the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, suffered the worst blackouts in more than six years, according to the data. Most of the states were in the north that experienced high temperatures due to the heat wave.

India is likely to face more blackouts, with utility stocks of coal, which were at their lowest levels before the summer in at least nine years, down 13%, despite state-run Coal India, which makes up 80% of Coal production in India. and increased production by more than 27%.

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