Why do the electricity carbon dioxide (CO2) lines in four cluster profiles from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) imply grid factors from 0.735 to 0.986 kg per kilowatt hour?

TERI prints no grid factor in these profiles. Dividing each electricity CO2 line by its kilowatt hours (kWh) gives 0.986 for Chennai forging and 0.735 for Coimbatore pumps, both 2014-15, then 0.820 for Agra and 0.790 for Hooghly. Rebuild from your own bills.

The four electricity lines, divided out

• Chennai forging, 2014-15: 24 million kWh, printed 23,669 tonnes CO2. 23,669 / 24,000,000 = 0.986 kg per kWh.
• Coimbatore pump sets, 2014-15: 40 million kWh, printed 29,400 tonnes. 29,400 / 40,000,000 = 0.735 kg per kWh.
• Agra foundries, 2017-18: 85 million kWh, printed 69,700 tonnes. 69,700 / 85,000,000 = 0.820 kg per kWh.
• Hooghly mixed industries, 2022-23: 853 million kWh, printed 674,248 tonnes. 674,248 / 853,000,000 = 0.790 kg per kWh.

Set against the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) figure for the same year

• CEA's weighted average for the grid, including renewables, is 0.779 for 2014-15, 0.754 for 2017-18 and 0.716 for 2022-23. From 2022-23 CEA's series is on a newer basis, adjusted for cross-border transfers and including captive injection, so the three years are not on one basis.
• Chennai forging implies 27% above that figure for its year. Coimbatore implies 6% below it. Agra implies 9% above and Hooghly 10% above.
• Chennai and Coimbatore are both Tamil Nadu clusters with a 2014-15 data year, yet their lines differ by about a third (0.986 against 0.735). My reading: the profiles were not all built on one factor. None of the four prints which factor it used.
• There is one lead. CEA also publishes a conventional-stations-only average, without renewables. For 2017-18 it is 0.822 in the version 22.0 results sheet, and Agra's 0.820 matches it. Hooghly's 0.790 matches neither measure: the conventional-only figure for 2022-23 is about 0.82 and the all-sources figure is 0.716. Our page on why some sources say 0.82 for India's grid explains the two measures. TERI does not say it used either.
• The kWh are printed rounded to the nearest million, so a ratio can move by up to about 2% for Chennai (24 million), 1% for Coimbatore (40 million) and under 1% for Agra and Hooghly. Chennai's gap and the 9 to 10% gaps for Agra and Hooghly are well outside that. Coimbatore's 6% is outside it too, but by much less.

What the same kWh give at 0.675

• Chennai forging: 24,000,000 x 0.675 = 16,200 tonnes, against 23,669 printed.
• Coimbatore: 27,000 tonnes, against 29,400.
• Agra: 57,375 tonnes, against 69,700.
• Hooghly: 575,775 tonnes, against 674,248.

What to do with a profile's CO2 line

1. Take the kWh, litres and tonnes from the table, not its CO2 column.
2. Apply the CEA factor for the year of the data you are reporting, or for the year of your own bills.
3. Say in your response that the cluster line is TERI's, and name the factor you used instead.

Chennai forging electricity, two readings

• TERI's line: 23,669 tonnes CO2 on 24 million kWh, an implied 0.986 kg per kWh
• CEA's 2014-15 weighted average: 24,000,000 x 0.779 = 18,696 tonnes
• Financial year (FY) 2025-26 factor: 24,000,000 x 0.675 = 16,200 tonnes
• Printed line over today's: 23,669 / 16,200 = 1.46, so about 46% higher

Electricity rows only. TERI's 2014-15 to 2022-23 profile tables with CEA version 22.0 factors; a line is an implied ratio, not a factor TERI states. 0.675 belongs to bills for FY 2025-26, not to 2014-15 data.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, so a year of power and fuel bills gives you your own totals to set beside these. It does not measure boilers or read a profile report, and it is not a third-party verifier.

• Which grid factor BEE's old project reports use
• India grid factor trend since 2014
• Chennai forging units: auto buyer carbon data
• Coimbatore pump cluster footprint
• Why some sources quote 0.82 for India's grid

Sources: TERI, Energy profile: Chennai forging industry cluster (SAMEEEKSHA), TERI, Energy profile: Coimbatore pump set cluster (SAMEEEKSHA), TERI, Energy profile: Agra foundry cluster (SAMEEEKSHA), TERI, Energy profile: Hooghly mixed cluster (SAMEEEKSHA), CEA, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, version 22.0, User Guide Annexure I (weighted average emission factor by financial year) and results sheet

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Ratios are worked out from each profile's electricity row and carry rounding in the printed kWh. CEA's weighted average is one of several figures it publishes. TERI does not say which it used; Agra matching CEA's conventional-only figure is a match, not a statement by TERI.