According to power ministry data, the peak power demand in May was down by over 26% at 134.7 GW, it was at 182.53 GW last year.
In April the peak power demand was down by about 25 per cent as compared to the corresponding month last year.
The peak power demand met is the highest energy supply during the day across the country.
Cool weather in April as well as May so far has kept the power demand low despite some easing of the lockdown post April 20.
Last month, the peak power demand crossed the 130 GW mark on April 24 (130.02GW), April 29 (131.13GW) and April 30 (132.77GW), the data showed.
Therefore, the peak power demand met in April stood at 132.77 GW, almost one-fourth less than 176.81 GW in April 2019.
Historically, the power demand during April has ranged between 116.89 GW (April 8) to 132.77 GW (April 30).
The low power demand during the extended lockdown has been a concern for Industry bodies and analysts.
The power sector is already under financial stress, the Discoms (distribution companies) owe more than ₹92,000 crore to Gencos (generating companies) as of February 2020.
Industry body CII, in a report last month, said Discoms are going to suffer a revenue loss of ₹30,000 crore due to low demand and will face a liquidity crunch of ₹50,000 crore.
There is hope with peal summer setting in May and with the rollback of the lockdown especially in the orange and green zones, power demand may see an uptick. All will demand the pace the economy picks up in coming months.