SINGAPORE: India has stepped up the use of coal to generate electricity in a bid to stop power outages caused by lower hydroelectricity output, and as an increase in renewables is struggling to keep pace with record power demand.
It is unusual for India’s electricity use to spike in August, when temperatures are lower due to the annual monsoon that runs between June and September. Demand typically peaks in May, when Indians crank up air-conditioners to beat the heat, and industries operate without rain-related disruptions.
However, the driest August in more than a century has resulted in power generation surging to a record 162.7 billion kilowatt hours (units), a Reuters analysis of data from the federal grid operator Grid India showed.
Coal’s share in power output rose to 66.7 per cent in August – the highest for the month in six years, according to a Reuters analysis of government data. Lower rainfall lead to the share of hydro power in overall output plunging to 14.8pc, compared with 18.1pc in the same period last year.
The government has repeatedly defended the use of coal citing lower per capita emissions compared with richer nations, and rising renewable energy output.
