In actual terms, the peak power demand met has come down by about 43 GW since last Friday.
The peak demand met was down mainly due to lower demand from industry and state power distribution companies (discoms) across the country due to the lockdown.
An industry source said, "The peak demand met was 163.72 GW on March 20, which came down to 161.74 GW on March 21. This dropped sharply to 135.20 GW on March 22 due a call for 'Janata Curfew' by Prime Minister (Narendra Modi)."
The source further said the peak demand met improved slightly to 145.49 GW on Monday but fell again to 135.93 GW on Tuesday and subsequently to 127.96 GW on Wednesday, showing effect of the lockdown.
The power demand met further fell sharply by over 7 GW to 120.31 GW on Thursday indicating continuous slump in demand.
In view of the coronavirus outbreak, the government has imposed lockdown for three weeks from March 25.
The spot power price touched a three-year low of 60 paise per unit for supplies on Wednesday on the Indian Energy Exchange due to low demand.
The average spot power price is hovering around Rs 2 per unit at electricity exchanges.
Peak power demand met was 168.7 GW in March 2019. KKS HRS