India Power Demand Surges in FY27: Coal Generation Rises 9.9% as Demand Hits Records

The demand for power grew by 12.8 percent in August and reached 169 billion units; it is the highest value for August month. The peak demand was 258 gigawatts. But there was no relief even in September.

Demand for power grew by 20 percent at the start of the month, and the peak demand on September 10th reached 269 gigawatts, a September record.

The estimated increase in demand for the entire month was approximately 11 percent. According to the Central Electricity Commission report, there was a shortfall of more than 2 gigawatts on several days during the evening hours, with the maximum daily shortfall reaching 7.7 gigawatts. The government maintains that only 0.6 percent of power demand was reduced, which is normal.

Thermal power plants accounted for a large portion of this increase. According to Coal India, domestic coal-based power generation increased from 582.5 billion units to 640.05 billion units between April and September.

This is an increase of approximately 10 percent. Thermal power plants accounted for approximately 63 percent of total power generation in August. Coal India's supply also remained strong during this period.

Total offtake in the first half was 384.2 million tonnes, an increase of 7.6 percent from last year. Coal dispatches to the power sector were 302.8 million tonnes, an increase of 6.1 percent. This represents approximately 79 percent of the total offtake.

Based on estimates of power demand, 10.6 percent more coal was supplied to power plants in September. In effect, 1.7 million tonnes of coal is being supplied daily.