Power Generation Falls As Fuel Costs Rise by 46% in December 2023

Power generation in the country went down by 9 percent YoY to 7,626 gigawatts per hour (GWh) in December 2023, while it was flat at 68,887 GWH in 1HFY24 compared to the same period last year. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, power generation in the country went up by 1 percent from 7,548 GWh recorded in November 2023. Meanwhile, the cost of fuel for power generation has increased by 46 percent YoY to an average of Rs. 10.3/unit in December 2023. Major contributors during December 2023 were Hydel (24.4 percent), Coal (22.2 percent), Nuclear (19.2 percent), and RLNG (16.6 percent). Hydel power generation is up by 8 percent YoY from 1,720 GWh in December 2022 to 1,859 GWh in December 2023. On an MoM basis, hydel generation is down 33 percent. For the period July-December FY24, it is up 10 percent YoY. Coal-based power generation increased by 11 percent YoY to 1,694 GWh in December 2023 from 1,521 GWh last year. On an MoM basis, coal-based power output shows an increase of 15 percent in December from 1,473 GWh in the previous month. Nuclear power generation decreased by 36 percent YoY to 1,464 GWh in December, down from 2,285 GWh last year, while monthly nuclear power generation shows a decrease of 7 percent from 1,572 GWh observed the previous month. RLNG-based power generation increased by 10 percent YoY to 1,268 GWh in December 2023 from 1,154 GWh last year and also up by 59 percent MoM compared to 798 GWh in November 2023. Solar-based generation is down 11 percent YoY from 69 GWh last year to 62 GWh in December 2023. During 6MFY24, it fell by 6 percent YoY to 426 GWh from 453 GWh in 6MFY23. During December 2023, fuel cost for power generation increased by 46 percent YoY and 43 percent MoM, to an average of Rs. 10.3/unit, compared to an average cost of Rs. 7 in December 2022 and Rs. 7.2/unit in November 2023, respectively. For 6MFY24, fuel costs are down 10 percent YoY with an average cost of Rs. 8.2/unit, compared to Rs. 9.1/unit in 6MFY23. High-Speed Diesel was the priciest fuel with a fuel cost of Rs. 44.3 per unit during the period in review.