Peak power demand declines 10% to 206GW as rains hit north India

Heavy rain pounding the northern parts of the country after a spate of heatwave brought down the peak power demand in the past three days, bringing much relief from record consumption. Peak power demand fell to 206 GW on June 30 from 216-230 GW a week before and the highest ever of 250 GW on May 30.

The India Meteorological Department has predicted heavy rainfall in many parts of the country in the next two to five days with no significant change in maximum temperatures during this period. June saw heatwaves across the country, especially in the northern region in the second half. Record high temperatures led to the highest ever demand in the northern region at 89 GW.

The month’s total electricity consumption was 152.4 billion units, up 9% year-on-year. On a month-on-month basis, the consumption was marginally lower than 156.33 billion units in May because of the onset of monsoon in the southern region in June, according to an industry executive, while the previous month saw high temperatures across the country. The power ministry said that the northern region had been experiencing high demand conditions due to a heatwave since May 17. Nonetheless, the highest ever peak demand of 89 GW in the region was successfully met on June 17. About 25-30% of the region’s power requirement came from neighbouring regions. Coal stocks at plants have however remained higher than last year since the beginning of 2024-25.

Stocks at thermal plants totalled 46.7 million tonnes as on June 29, about 32% higher year-on-year. Coal India Ltd (CIL) said its supplies in the summer months were higher than last year. “CIL’s supplies to the coal fired plants grew by 4% to 160 million tonnes during Q1,” the company said. NTPC recorded power generation of 113.87 billion units in the quarter to June, an increase of 9.5% year-on-year.