Peak consumption touches 270.82 GW as rising temperatures drive heavier use of cooling appliances
India’s peak power demand met during the day surpassed the Power Ministry’s estimate for FY27 hitting 270.82 GW. This is also the fourth consecutive day with power demand breaking all past records.“Today was the 4th consecutive day when the peak power demand (solar hours) reached a new all-time high. At 1545 hours (21.5.2026), the peak power demand (solar hours) of 270.82 GW was successfully met,” Power Ministry said Thursday on X.The surge in demand appears to be linked to the greater usage of cooling appliances in view of the prevailing weather conditions across the country, it added.“Today’s peak demand was met with the following mix: Thermal 62.8 per cent, solar 22 per cent, wind 5 per cent, hydro 5.8 per cent and rest from other sources. The availability of coal at the thermal power plants (TPPs) is adequate and the supplies are being effectively monitored,” it said.Coal reservesCoal reserves at TPP end of a little over 51.98 million tonnes (mt) on May 18 against a daily consumption of roughly 3.10 mt. This is for a cumulative coal-based capacity of around 223 GW. Out of this, domestic coal based (DCB) plants with 203 GW installed capacity have stocks of 49.3 mt with a daily requirement of 2.9 mt. Imported coal based (ICB) plants (18.78 GW capacity) have stocks of 2.7 mt with a daily requirement of 1.96 lakh tonnes.India’s peak power demand during solar hours hit a record 260 GW on Tuesday, surpassing the 257 GW record made on Monday. However, the peak demand surpassed 265 GW on Wednesday, and eventually surpassed 270 GW on Thursday.The Power Ministry had estimated India’s peak demand to be in the range of 270 GW in the current fiscal year.It is expected that the country’s peak power demand during daytime is expected to remain in the 250-260 GW range considering the weatherman anticipates the heat waves to continue for the next 6-7 days across northwest and central India with mercury crossing 47 degrees Celsius in several places.Disha Aggarwal, Senior Programme Lead at Council On Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), said “India crossed 270 GW of peak demand at 15:47 hrs today. Record heat and surging electricity demand continue to test the power system. A 256 GW peak demand in the week of April 20 already highlighted how thin the margins are becoming: surplus solar during the day, nearly 190 GW of installed coal capacity running at full capacity during nights with up to 5.4 GW of night-time shortage, and exchange prices swinging five-fold between solar and non-solar hours.Four frontsWith projections pointing to 270 GW peak in the coming weeks, and hotter nights becoming the norm, India must urgently act on four fronts, she emphasised.“First, fast-track the commissioning of 9.7 GW of battery and pumped hydro storage, planned for FY27, to utilise cheaper and surplus solar power during nights. Second, ensure adequate coal stocks are maintained, especially at plants distant from mines. Third, expand the application of time-of-day tariffs so that smart-metered consumers can optimise evening consumption. Fourth, equip Discoms with AI-driven, weather-linked tools to anticipate demand hotspots to prevent transformer failures,” Aggarwal added.In line with the country, the national capital also recorded a record electricity demand on Thursday. Delhi’s peak power demand touched 8,231 MW at 1531 hours—the highest recorded so far in 2026. On Wednesday, peak demand had touched 8,039 MW.Delhi Discoms BSES and Tata Power DDL successfully met the demand. BSES Discoms—BRPL and BYPL—meeting loads of 3,762 MW and 1,838 MW, respectively. Tata Power-DDL also met the demand of 2,331 MW across its network.Published on May 21, 2026
