India produced approximately 133.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in August. This is unchanged from July and is up year-on-year by 1.5 billion kilowatt hours (1%). While it is a positive that India’s electricity production grew last month, concerning is that seven of the last thirteen months have seen India’s electricity production contract on a year-on-year basis.
Coal-derived electricity generation totaled approximately 104.5 billion kilowatt hours. This is down month-on-month by 1.6 billion kilowatt hours (-2%) and is up year-on-year by only 500 million kilowatt hours (0.5%). India’s coal-derived generation has contracted on a year-on-year basis during eight of the last thirteen months. Prior to the last thirteen months, it had grown on a year-on-year basis for fifteen straight months.
Hydropower output totaled approximately 23.5 billion kilowatt hours. This is up month-on-month by 1.9 billion kilowatt hours (9%) and is up year-on-year by 2 billion kilowatt hours (9%). Hydropower output has grown on a year-on-year basis for twelve straight months. Prior to the last twelve months, it had fallen on a year-on-year basis during sixteen of the prior eighteen months. Weakness in India’s economy, combined with the return of growth in hydropower output, continues to act as a headwind on coal-derived electricity generation and demand for coal imports.
