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Heat drives India’s power demand to record 270 GW
- 2 months ago (2026-05-22)
- David Flin
India’s peak power demand hit a record high of 270.73 GW on 21 May, resulting from a searing heat wave which boosted demand for cooling.
African Energy Week 2026
Large areas of the India subcontinent are witnessing above-average heat-waves in May due to the El Nino weather pattern. India has seen four successive days of record peak power demand this week.
Ankit Jain, Vice President and co-group Head of Corporate Ratings at ICRA Limited , said that peak demand could rise further “if heat waves continue to remain severe across large parts of the country.”
Localised power outages were reported in some regions according to data from grid operator Grid India . Jain said that the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources could see power shortages due to a sudden spike in demand, leading to power cuts.