India’s electricity demand reached an unprecedented high of 250 gigawatts (GW) on Thursday, marking a second consecutive day of record-breaking consumption. The surge in demand is attributed to the intense heatwave conditions gripping northern India, leading to increased reliance on cooling appliances.
This record demand has outpaced the previous high of 246 GW recorded on Wednesday and 243 GW in September 2023. The northern region recorded an all-time high demand of 86.7 GW, while the western region reached 74.8 GW. Thermal power plants played a crucial role in meeting this demand, achieving a peak generation of 176 GW.
The ongoing heatwave is expected to persist into June, potentially pushing peak demand to 260 GW. To meet this anticipated demand, the government has directed imported coal-based plants to operate at full capacity till September 2024 and extended the mandate for blending 6% imported coal in domestic coal-based plants till June.