Heat drives power demand up 9% but fuel sales stay modest in June – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The intense heat wave and rising humidity with the onset of monsoon towards the end of the month drove up power consumption by 9% in June as households and commercial establishment ran cooling appliances for longer hours.
But petrol, jet fuel and LPG sales posted moderate gains, while diesel remained in the slow lane during the month, essentially on loss of farm sector demand.
Government data pegged power consumption at 152.3 billion units (BU) during the month under review against 140.2 BU. The highest demand met in a day, also known as ‘peak demand met’ in industry parlance, too jumped 9.8% to 245.4 gigawatts (GW) from 223.2 GW in June 2023.
The early onset of heat wave in the absence of summer showers had pushed up peak demand to a record 250.2 GW in May this year against the previous all-time high of 243.2 GW in September 2023.
The picture was mixed for fossil fuels. Diesel demand, a key indicator of economic activities, was 1.3% lower than June 2023. This is largely attributable to lack of traction from the farm sector. Sequentially, however, sales were 0.4% higher than May.
Petrol consumption posted a healthy growth of 3.6% on rising share of the fuel in new car sales and people’s preference for personal vehicles for holiday travel. On monthly basis, the growth was a modest 1.9% as the holiday season began tapering and monsoon disputed travel in many parts.
Jet fuel sales rose 4.3% annually, catching the fading strains of holiday season fervour, the reason why sequentially demand was 3.8% lower than May. LPG sales rose more than 5% year-on-year but were only 0.6% higher than May.