PowerWatch: As demand climbed to 240 GW on Sept 1, peak shortage hit the roof at 11 GW

Power demand hovered above 200 GW on almost all the days of the month of August. During that month, the peak demand touched 236.6 GW, which was around 21 percent higher than the peak demand in August 2022.

India met a record breaking 239.978 GW (239,978 MW) peak power demand on September 1. But, the unusual surge in demand also resulted in an alarming spike in the country's power shortage, recorded at 10.745 GW (10,745 MW) on the same day.

The peak demand on the following day (September 2) continued to remain high at 238.620 GW and so did the power deficit at 8 GW.

The demand then plummeted to 223.121 GW on September 3, and the deficit was 744 MW. But that was because it was a Sunday, when power usage is relatively subdued due to low office, commercial and industrial load.

The surge in demand also resulted in coal stocks at thermal power plants going below the comfortable 33-35 million ton (MT) mark, which was maintained this year between March to July. On September 1, coal stocks at domestic thermal power plants were recorded at 27.59 MT. Of the 165 domestic coal-based thermal power plants in the country, 40 had critical stocks as on September 1. The figures remained the same throughout September 2, while data for September 3 was yet to be compiled at the time of filing this report.

To mitigate the problem of coal shortage to prevent blackouts in the country, the Ministry of Power on September 1 extended the mandate to generating companies (gencos) for blending imported coal in thermal power plants till March 2024 instead of September 2023.

Coal has been contributing about 70 percent to India's total energy mix, while pure renewable energy sources hover around 9 percent, as per September 1 data. Hydropower contributed about 14 percent, whereas gas-based power accounted for 4 percent. Nuclear is about 2 percent, while lignite-based power is 1 percent.

According to officials at power utilities, it is unusual for India's electricity demand to spike in August, when temperatures are lower due to the annual monsoon that runs between June and September. Power demand in India usually peaks in May, due to maximum use of air-conditioners and industries operating in full swing.

The reason why the peak power demand has spiked in August and September is that this time the weather has been unusually dry. India had its most parched August in 122 years, with rainfall plummeting to 33 percent below the seasonal average, according to the country’s met office. The deficit caused this year’s monsoon’s rainfall to dip to nine percent below the long period average in August, the poorest performance in eight years.

Gujarat, Kerala and Rajasthan were the states that were worst affected by the shortfall of rain.

Power demand hovered above 200 GW on almost all the days of August. During that month, the peak demand touched 236.6 GW, which was around 21 percent higher than the peak demand in August 2022.