A peak shortage of 14 GW is forecast in June during nighttime hours when solar capacity is offline, the Central Electricity Authority, the country’s power sector planning body, told Reuters in a statement.
India expects its biggest energy shortage in 14 years in June after a slump in hydropower generation, the government told Reuters. India is trying to avoid power outages by postponing planned plant maintenance and reopening shut down units.
The shortage also follows delays, a government source said, in the commissioning of 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power stations that should be operational before March.
A peak shortage of 14 GW is forecast in June during nighttime hours when solar capacity is offline, the Central Electricity Authority, the country’s power sector planning body, told Reuters in a statement.
“The planning process is based on worst-case scenarios,” the report said.
According to publicly available government data, the gap is the widest since 2009-2010. India’s hydropower production fell at the sharpest pace in four decades in the year ended March 31, while renewable energy generation was flat.
Power Minister RK Singh last week held an emergency meeting to take stock and decided to defer closure of power plants for scheduled maintenance in June and revive 5 GW of idle coal-fired power capacity, said two separate government sources involved were present at the meeting.
“All efforts have been made to maximize generation, and with the measures taken, it is expected that energy demand will be adequately met during the day and non-solar hours in the coming months, including June 2024,” it said. declaration.
Grid operator Grid-India expects maximum nightly demand of 235 GW in June, the statement said. On the supply side, almost 187 GW of thermal capacity is available, and about 34 GW from renewable sources, according to government sources.
The figures on energy demand and capacity forecasts have not been previously reported.
The Ministry of Energy last month invoked emergency powers for the first time to allow power stations running on gas and imported coal to operate at full capacity.
India has long defended its use of coal, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had slowed capacity growth based on the heavily polluting fuel to focus on the transition to green energy, with a view to achieving net zero emissions targets for 2070.
Plans to set up new coal-fired power stations in the country, which is under pressure from wealthy economies to stop using coal, gained momentum last year but it will take at least four years for electricity generation to come on stream.
Existing coal-fired and solar power plants will help the country meet its electricity demand during the day, one of the government sources said.
First print: May 9, 2024 | 11:52 PM IST