In the first half of 2024, power demand in India experienced an 8.3 per cent increase, driven largely by strong economic growth, according to Andre Lambine, Senior Analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights Asia Power. He noted that coal remains the dominant source in the power generation mix, accounting for 78 per cent of the annual rise in supply.
Lambine emphasized that coal is crucial in addressing India's increasing power needs, and he projected that the higher demand would continue to be primarily met by coal. On the other hand, China is shifting towards non-thermal fuels, with renewables and hydro power growing at a faster rate compared to thermal fuels, which contributed only 25 per cent to the annual increase in power demand.
The overall power demand in the Asia-Pacific region aligns with economic growth, with S&P Global forecasting a 4.2 per cent GDP growth for the region in 2024. This is significantly higher than the anticipated growth rates of 2.3 per cent in North America and 0.8 per cent in the Eurozone.
The increase in electricity demand across major Asian economies, including India and China, is further driven by factors such as severe heatwaves and the global shift towards electrification. The International Energy Agency has also observed that the world's electricity demand is projected to grow at the fastest rate since the post-COVID rebound during 2024-2025.
