Amidst heatwave, India faced unprecedented rise in power demand.
Rise in population along with global warming are causing havoc stress in power sector throughout the world. The story is not different in India. The summer of 2024 was harsh on Indians that caused excess demand for electricity. Amidst all these, the power sector came up with shocking trend in electricity demand. In this article, we will discuss about forecast by power sector and growing need for renewable energy sources.
According to official data, “In June 2023, the power consumption stood at 140.27 BU. The highest supply in a day (peak power demand met) also rose to 245.41 GW in June 2024 against 223.29 GW in the year-ago month. The peak power demand was recorded at 224.10 GW in June 2023.”
“The peak power demand touched an all-time high of 250.20GW in May this year. The previous all-time high peak power demand of 243.27 GW was recorded in September 2023,” the report added.
Future Projections: “The way power demand has grown in some states in the last two years, the demand will touch 384 GW and may easily cross 400 GW by 2031-32. For this we must have an installed (power generation) capacity of 900 GW,” revealed Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal while speaking at the CII-Smart Metering Conference.
“The government projection for this year's peak power demand was 260 GW. This marks a 20 per cent increase in just two years, necessitating potential revisions to the National Electricity Plan (NEP) 2022-27,” the power secretary mentioned further.
Along with rising population, extreme heatwave and humidity are two key factors behind power consumption. The air conditioners (AC) demand has been increasing rapidly for the last couple of years.
To maintain the demand, government has focused on setting up new thermal units and increased coal production. The Coal India Limited (CIL) provides around 80% of total coal demand in India. To enhance the supply, CIL has produced around 14% more coal in June, 2024. In the last year, India's coal output was 73.92 MT, while this has increased to 84.63 MT in 2024.
There are different type of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and so on.
Since 2021, the world has been facing massive energy crisis. As power demand is increasing globally, countries are looking for these sustainable sources. Fossil fuel consumption lead to a rise in green house gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. On the other hand, renewable energy sources leave no trace of GHGs. Moreover, these energy sources are found around us at a cheaper rate and much healthier option too.
Currently, India is at 4th position in Renewable Energy Installed Capacity globally. India has set a target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030.
During the monsoon season, the power demand decreases significantly, however, the government needs a sustainable strategy to adopt green energy in a broader scale.
