Now Reading: India’s power demand hits 270.8 GW, supply gap widens to 3,045 MW
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India’s power demand hits 270.8 GW, supply gap widens to 3,045 MW
India's peak power demand hit a record 270.8 GW in May, the Rajya Sabha was told on Monday, a 12 per cent rise year-on-year. But the supply gap during non-solar hours in…
The Story in Brief
India's peak power demand hit a record 270.8 GW in May, the Rajya Sabha was told on Monday, a 12 per cent rise year-on-year. But the supply gap during non-solar hours in June widened to 3,045 MW, far above the 1,225 MW gap in April and 1,326 MW in May. The northern region accounted for the largest shortfall, with 2,650 MW unmet. Minister Shripad Naik attributed the rise to developing El Nino conditions, which increase cooling demand and reduce rainfall. The government said total installed capacity stands at 548.86 GW, but constraints in state transmission and distribution networks caused the shortfall. Renewable energy's share rose from 24.13 per cent in April to 28.11 per cent in June, but thermal power still supplied over 68 per cent of generation.
The Indian Opinion
The government leans on the 'adequate capacity' line, but the widening gap, from 1,225 MW in April to 3,045 MW in June, shows transmission bottlenecks, not generation, are the real chokepoint. El Nino may push demand higher in August, yet storage additions remain a distant promise. The test will be whether the 39.88 GW of battery storage planned by 2030 actually arrives, or if coal keeps filling the gap and pushing up emissions.
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, thehindubusinessline.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
