Bengaluru homes see 28% rise in power use in six years

Rapid growth has increased Bengaluru’s appetite for electricity, with commercial and residential consumption shooting up by 32% and 28%, respectively, in the six years since 2019, according to data accessed by DH.

While commercial usage of power has been growing at a faster pace compared with the residential sector, the latter continues to consume more units of electricity, the data between 2019-2020 and 2024-25 shows.

In 2024-25, Bengaluru’s residents consumed close to 59% of the total power supplied to the city.

An improvement in purchasing power of people and standard of living is one of the main reasons for the increasing consumption of electricity by the residential sector, Bescom officials said.

“Now, no one wants to live any less. From home theatres to air conditioners, the number of people opting for a more comfortable lifestyle has increased. Also, the purchasing power has increased. As a result, power consumption has skyrocketed in many households,” a senior Bescom official said.

In addition to existing consumers using more power, the rise in consumption is also fuelled by an expanding Bescom user base.

In Bengaluru city, Bescom saw around 19% increase in its residential consumer base over the last six years, owing to an increase in migration to the city.

Between 2019-20 and 2024-25, the number of residential consumers in the city increased by as much as 9.8 lakh.

In the commercial sector, new IT parks and data centres have fuelled the growth and the number of commercial establishments have also increased by around 19%.

“Tech companies along with new IT parks are the major contributors in the commercial consumption sector,” the senior Bescom official said.

However, officials opined that the demand would have been higher if not for the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic.

“Post Covid, owing to remote working options, the residential consumption has grown significantly and the commercial consumption, which could have increased drastically, has seen a satisfactory growth,” another official explained.

To meet the increasing demand, the energy department has increased power production significantly, a senior official in the department said.

“Over the last two-three years, our production has improved significantly. Also, we have taken up renewable energy projects, and the share of renewable energy has increased. During summer, based on the forecast for demand, we have had power swapping agreements with other states,” the official explained.