Industrial sector consumes 57% of state’s power

SHILLONG, March 31: Meghalaya’s industrial sector accounted for 57% of the state’s total electricity consumption in 2022-23, significantly surpassing the national average of 41%, according to the “All India Electricity Statistics – General Review 2024”. This positions Meghalaya as the leading state in the Northeast and places it alongside Goa, which also reported a 57% industrial share. Nationally, Meghalaya ranks fifth, following Odisha (85%), Jharkhand (70%), Gujarat (67%), and Chhattisgarh (64%).
In contrast, neighboring Assam reported that its industrial sector consumed only 28% of its total electricity sales during the same period.
Over the years, Meghalaya’s industrial electricity consumption has seen notable fluctuations. The data, compiled by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), indicates that in March 2017, industrial consumption peaked at 524 GWh. However, by March 2023, this figure had adjusted to 376.61 GWh, up from 280.28 GWh in March 2022.
The number of industrial electricity consumers in Meghalaya has also experienced changes. In 2009, there were 941 industrial consumers, which declined to 617 by 2022.
Nationally, India’s electricity generation grew by 5.8% in 2024, reaching 1,824.13 billion kWh. Despite this growth, the share of coal in power generation decreased to 74.4%, while renewables rose to a record 12.1%.