PANAJI
Goa tops in the country in power consumption with an average household guzzling up to 263 kWh of power in a month. This is more than five times the average household consumption in Assam, which is the lowest.
Also, India’s total domestic energy consumption rose from 171 billion units to 340 billion units during 2012-2022.
This was revealed in an analysis by Pune-based non-profit Prayas, which does public interest research in the energy sector. It shows why the industrial and domestic sectors are the main drivers of the growth in power consumption in the country and how households across the country switched gears on electricity use.
Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra had a close to 50% share in the additional demand.
The growth in power consumption has been dramatic in Bihar where in 2022, an average household consumed close to six times more power monthly than it did in 2012.
Other states where household power use has more than doubled are Madhya Pradesh and Odisha while the UTs of J&K and Ladakh have seen a 200% jump between 2012 and 2022.
While domestic power use saw the highest rate of growth at a yearly 7.1% from 2012 to 2022, it is industry that accounts for the biggest chunk of the overall additional demand generated in the 2012-22 decade.
The industrial sector had a 39% share with domestic users accounting for 32% and agricultural consumption making up 16% of the additional demand during 2012-2022, the analysis reveals.
The top 5 states for industrial electricity use – Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh, respectively – accounted for over 50% of the total power consumed by the sector in 2022, it said.
