Overall electricity generation fell 14.3% in May, a Reuters analysis of provisional government data showed, compared with a decline of 24% in April.

Despite higher consumption by residential consumers, power use was lower as many industries and commercial establishments – which account for over half of India’s annual consumption – were shut or not operating at full capacity.

Electricity generation from coal – India’s primary source of electricity – fell 22%, an analysis of daily load despatch data from POSOCO showed. Coal’s contribution to overall electricity generation in May fell to 64.2%, compared with an average of over 70.7% last year.

India’s electricity demand is likely to fall for the first time in at least four decades this fiscal year, analysts say, adding to the woes of coal-fired utilities, which were already hurting due to a prolonged industrial slowdown.

Thermal coal imports by India – the second-largest consumer, importer and producer of coal and third-largest greenhouse gas emitter – could fall as much as 18% in 2020 due to lower electricity demand, Anurag Sehgal, an analyst at Noble Resources said, a blow to miners in Indonesia and South Africa.

Menwhile, India’s solar power supply grew 12.7% and hydro-powered electricity supply rose 3.6%, while gas-fired power output was 13.8% higher, the data showed. However, wind-powered electricity supply fell 10.8%.

The share of fossil fuels in overall electricity generation in May was 70.71%, compared with 76% the previous year, an analysis of data from POSOCO showed.