India’s electricity demand surges by 8 per cent in 2024

India’s electricity demand surges by 8 per cent in 2024, driven by heatwaves, high residential consumption and growth in industry, according to the half-yearly update of Electricity Market Report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), released on Friday.

The report noted that India’s burgeoning electricity consumption is in sync the country’s stature as the world’s fastest growing major economy, and “supported by strong GDP growth and increased cooling demand due to long and intense heatwaves”.

Pan-India consumption of power hit a record 250 GW on May 30, soon after the mercury rose to 49 degree centigrade in Delhi and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a heatwave alert, the report said, adding that the heatwave in the first half of 2024 has been the longest ever recorded in India.

“In the first half of 2024, the country grappled with heatwaves of record duration, with peak load reaching a new high and putting exceptional strains on power systems. Assuming a return to average weather conditions, we expect electricity demand growth in India to ease moderately to 6.8 per cent in 2025,” the IEA report said.

The IEA expects electricity demand in the country over the rest of the year to be around 258 GW.

“The drought conditions that emerged in 2023 following the onset of El Nino continued to have an impact in 2024, resulting in an 8 per cent year-on-year decline in electricity generation from hydropower in the first half of 2024,” the report noted, adding: “Amid strong electricity demand growth coal-fired generation was up by 10 per cent in H1 (Jan-June) 2024. Gas-fired output rose by 50 per cent during the same period.”

The IEA report had a word of caution on emissions, despite growing talk of renewable energy lately.

“Despite the rapid growth of renewables, the brisk increase in electricity consumption, especially in China and India, is resulting in the use of more coal-fired generation to meet demand. India and Southeast Asia will continue to post higher emissions from the power sector due to rising coal-fired generation,” the IEA report noted.