Rising Electricity Demand

What was asked, and of whom?

The question asked about challenges and measures related to rising electricity demand, specifically concerning coal dependence, peak load management, and grid resilience. The Ministry of Power provided the official answer.

Who asked / answered

Shri Ve Vaithilingam and Thiru Dr. S Jagathratchakan asked the question; the Ministry of Power answered.

What the government said

• 548.86 GW installed generation capacity as of June 2026
• 324.7 GW added since April 2014
• 2,18,267 ckm transmission lines added since 2014
• 103.7 GW VRE generation in July 2026 (Solar-75 GW, Wind-28.7 GW)
• 270.8 GW all-time high peak demand met in May 2026
• 41.4 MT coal stock at thermal plants (13 days at 85% PLF)
• 69.54% coal-based generation share in April-June 2026
• 18,374 villages electrified under DDUGJY
• 2.86 crore households electrified under SAUBHAGYA
• AT&C loss reduced from 22.62% in FY14 to 15.04% in FY25
• 50% non-fossil fuel capacity achieved by 2025 (5 years ahead of 2030 target)
• 500 GW non-fossil capacity target by 2030
• 786 GW non-fossil capacity projected by 2035-36
• 100 GW nuclear capacity target by 2047

Points worth noting

• All-time high peak demand of 270.8 GW met in May 2026 and exceeded 270 GW twice in July 2026
• 51.5% renewable share in electricity generation on 29 July 2025
• Record renewable capacity addition of 50,905 MW in 2025-26
• Energy shortage declined to 0.0% in FY 2025-26 from 4.2% in FY 2013-14
• India's transmission network became the world's largest synchronous grid on 14 Jan 2026 with 5.08 lakh ckm lines