Mumbai: Work from home following the Corona scare has meant people spending more hours at their homes. The government has also ordered a partial discontinuation of production or running industrial units in a staggered way. Hence, the electricity demand has been hit despite the onset of summer.
Maharashtra's peak demand has fallen to 19,666 mw from 21,112 mw as per the data compiled by the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC). The trend is expected to continue for a while. The state run Maharashtra State Electricity DistributionCompany (Maha Vitaran) with 2.53 crore consumers is the leading distributor across the state except large part of Great Mumbai. Of it's 2.52 crore consumers, 8 lakh are industrial consumers.
State energy department officer told FPJ,'' The demand may fall if more and more industrial units shuts or operate partially due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The electricity price on power exchange has reduced to Rs 2.80 per unit against Rs 3.20 per unit. Fall in power demand is a matter of concern as it will impact MahaVitaran's finances.''
Energy expert Ashok Pendse admitted that the demand for electricity is going down due to large turmoil in the industrial sector because of Coronavirus spread. ''If the trend continues, the industrial growth will be hit badly,'' he noted.
Meanwhile, the power distribution companies in Mumbai have prepared a plan B as already shopkeepers have decided to close for few days in response to the government's call. Besides, private sector companies are encouraging work from home by using 50% capacity on any given day.
