Rising Temperatures Challenge India’s Power Grid
A severe heatwave sweeping across much of India has set new records for electricity demand, reaching a peak of 270 gigawatts (GW) on Thursday. This marks the fourth consecutive day of record-breaking power usage, with Wednesday’s figure at 265.44 GW.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), extremely high temperatures are expected to continue throughout the week, particularly affecting northwest and central India, as well as parts of eastern India.
The power ministry announced that at 3:45 PM on Thursday, the peak demand hit an all-time high of 270.82 GW, which was successfully met. Solar energy played a crucial role in this achievement, contributing around 32% of the total power generation by noon. The previous day, solar energy was responsible for nearly 30% during peak afternoon hours.
“This summer is putting India’s power generation system to the test,” noted Trishant Dev from the Centre for Science and Environment. He highlighted that at midday, solar energy alone was providing close to 80 GW, approximately one-third of the country’s total power generation at that time. While thermal power continues to be the backbone of the system, renewable sources like solar are making significant contributions during daylight.
Disha Aggarwal from the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) pointed out the challenges posed by the record heat and increasing electricity demand. “The peak demand reached 256 GW last month, indicating how tight our power margins are becoming,” she stated.
Looking ahead, experts suggest that India must take immediate actions to address the situation. This includes accelerating the setup of 9.7 GW of battery and pumped hydro storage to effectively use excess solar energy at night. Maintaining adequate coal supplies at power plants, especially those located far from mines, is also essential. Further, implementing time-of-day tariffs could help consumers manage their evening energy use more efficiently. Lastly, equipping distribution companies with AI-driven tools can help predict demand trends and prevent outages.
