India's November electricity output drops due to weak cooling demand and slower industrial activity

India's electricity output dropped for the second consecutive month in November, as a milder weather pattern and a slower pace of industrial activity kept demand for electricity low.

Calculations based on data daily from the federal grid regulator Grid India showed that total electricity production in November decreased about 1% compared to last year, after a 6% drop in October.

The Indian manufacturing sector has lost momentum in November, with the growth slowing to its lowest pace in nine-months as U.S. Tariffs have taken a heavy toll.

It was also the first time in at least five year that the power demand in November had decreased. Analysts said that demand generally increases in the second half of the year, as the industrial and agricultural sectors recover from the monsoon.

Ankit Jain is vice president for corporate ratings at the ratings agency ICRA.

These seasonal variations show the strong correlation between temperatures and electricity consumption. This has an impact on both forecasting short-term demand and planning generation.

ICRA's forecast of India's power demand growth for the full year has been lowered sharply from its previous 4.0%-4.5% to 1.5%-2.0%.

In November, the country's coal-fired power generation fell by 5.8% compared to a year ago as demand for electricity declined.

Grid-India data revealed that coal-fired power generation, which accounts for 75% of India’s electricity production, fell on an annualized basis in seven of the 11 months of this year. This is the highest since 2020.

India has reduced its dependence on coal to generate electricity due to the sustained growth of renewable energy.

India's output of renewable energy soared to 18,55 billion kWh, up by 24% compared to a year ago.

India has added 25.4 gigawatts to its solar and wind power capacity in the seven months leading up to 2025. It plans to boost this to 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. Sethuraman N.R., Kevin Buckland (Reporting)

(source: Reuters)