{
  "id": 11426704,
  "title": "Power demand overshoots government’s projection by 3.3% in April-August",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/power-demand-overshoots-governments-projection-by-3-3-in-april-august",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-02T11:25:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/business/power-demand-exceeds-government-projection-april-august-10903812/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the first five months of the current financial year, India's power demand has frequently surpassed government projections due to a combination of inadequate rainfall and consistently high temperatures, according to government data. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) typically anticipates electricity demand to remain below short-term projections, but in April through August, actual energy requirement was 3.3% higher than CEA's predictions. This deviation is the most significant since 2022 and 2023, periods marked by economic and electricity demand recovery post-COVID-19 pandemic. In the same periods previously, the deviation was only 0.75% and 1.8% respectively. The discrepancy is critical because generation companies and power system operators rely on CEA's projections to plan fuel requirements, including coal stocking, and other operational needs. A substantial disparity from these projections can consequently affect planning across the power system. The deviation has also sparked apprehensions about potential power shortages, prompting the government to take additional steps to optimize generation from existing capacity. The power ministry has instructed approximately 112 captive coal-based power plants to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 to December 31. Typically, the CEA creates a short-term power supply plan, the Load Generation Balance Report (LGBR), which evaluates the anticipated power supply scenario nationwide. These projections aid various stakeholders, such as the Railways, coal companies, and other entities engaged in fuel supply and power system operations, in planning their requirements and resources. The anomaly appears to be easing in September, with rainfall in northern and eastern India reducing some of the load. A senior official told The Indian Express, \"Projection for September was also high, around 161 billion units, and rainfall in eastern and northern parts have reduced some load. So, we have observed some reversal of the trend in September.\" The 3.3% gap is anticipated to narrow over the next two to three months, according to the official. However, the deviation has persisted for five months, potentially slowing the rate of reduction. Coal-based sources have been disproportionately impacted, generating nearly 10% more electricity during April-August compared to the same period last year. Generation from coal-based sources reached 579,869.38 million (MU) compared to 527,542.87 MU in the corresponding period last year. This figure represents the highest recorded for the April-August period in the past three years. Conversely, hydropower generation decreased by over 11% to 75,304.58 MU during the April-August period, down from 84,767.77 MU in the same period last year. The decline in hydropower generation has tightened power supply balance, as hydroelectricity plays a vital role in meeting evening peak demand, especially during summer when solar generation declines after sunset. However, the rainfall deficit has altered this scenario. Hydroelectric power plants' reservoir levels dropped to their lowest for the April 1-July 30 period since 2023 due to erratic weather conditions, including those associated with El Niño, reducing water availability for power generation. This shift is evident in the depletion of thermal power plant inventories, which fell to 18.6 million tonnes by September 30 from around 55 million tonnes at the start of April.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "India's power demand exceeded projections by 3.3% in April-August.",
    "Deviation is the most significant since 2022-2023 post-COVID recovery.",
    "Coal-based sources generated 10% more electricity during the period."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}