--- title: "India's peak power demand crosses projected 270 GW amid heatwave" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/287231998.md" description: "India's power demand reached a new peak of 270.82 GW on Thursday, driven by extreme heat and heatwaves, surpassing last summer's peak of 243 GW. This marks the fourth consecutive peak in May, with expectations that demand may exceed 275 GW in the coming weeks. The India Meteorological Department forecasts continued heatwave conditions in Delhi. Power supply companies are implementing advanced technologies and arrangements to ensure reliable electricity for millions of consumers." datetime: "2026-05-21T05:44:00.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/287231998.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287231998.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/287231998.md) --- # India's peak power demand crosses projected 270 GW amid heatwave India’s power demand touched yet another peak on Thursday. This time, it crossed the projected 270 GW, reaching 270.82 GW at 3:45 pm. Because of record-breaking high temperatures and severe heatwaves in many regions across the country, power demand peaked consecutively for the fourth time in May. The demand trends this month have already exceeded last summer’s peak of 243 GW in June. In May last year, the peak reached 231 GW. Thursday’s peak surpassed the all-time high of 265 GW, which also occurred during solar hours the previous day. “Summer of 2025 was largely moderate across most parts of India, particularly in the northern region, as the season saw intermittent spells of rain, followed by a longer and wetter monsoon,” said Shyamasis Das, fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress, adding that the current year is registering prominent heatwave conditions characterised by El Nino. This has driven up cooling requirements and, consequently, power demand. “The coming weeks may see mercury levels rising further, which may push power demand past the 275 GW mark, breaking all records,” he added. Thursday marked the fourth consecutive day of heatwave conditions in Delhi, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. “In the likely scenario of prevalence of lower tropospheric dry northwesterly or westerly winds and absence of any western disturbances affecting plains of northwest India, heatwave conditions are likely to continue over Delhi during the next seven days,” it said. The city’s power demand peaked for 2026, reaching 8,231 MW, the highest ever in the first 21 days of May. BSES, in a statement, said its discoms are geared up to ensure reliable power supply to over 53 lakh consumers and nearly 2.25 crore residents across South, West, East and Central Delhi. “These arrangements include long-term PPAs, bilateral tie-ups, banking arrangements with other states and deployment of advanced technologies such as AI- and ML-based demand forecasting to accurately estimate load and maintain uninterrupted supply,” it said. While BRPL met the load of 3,762 MW, BYPL met demand of 1,838 MW. Meanwhile, Tata Power-DDL met the season’s peak demand of 2,331 MW across its network. “Adequate arrangements have been put in place through bilateral agreements, reserve shutdown mechanisms, and participation in power exchanges to maintain supply reliability,” said the company’s spokesperson. It has also implemented advanced technologies such as advanced statistical and machine learning forecasting models and the Integrated Digital Energy Portfolio Management application, the spokesperson added. ### Related Stocks - [INDY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/INDY.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [India hikes petrol and diesel prices by about 3 rupees/litre, retailers say](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286498965.md) - [India's peak power demand hits record 265 GW amid heatwave conditions](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287081701.md) - [Southeast Asia's power demand to increase threefold by 2030, report says](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286724176.md) - [AI-driven power demand boosts appeal of dividend energy stocks](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286845973.md) - [US natural gas futures hit 2-month high, heat seen boosting power demand](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286956590.md)