India Faces Power Outages as Heatwave Pushes Electricity Demand to Record Highs

Large parts of India are experiencing recurring power outages as an intense heatwave drives electricity demand to record levels, placing mounting pressure on the country’s energy infrastructure and prompting government calls for energy conservation.

Electricity demand surged beyond 270 gigawatts this week, marking one of the highest consumption levels ever recorded in the country as millions of households and businesses increased air-conditioning and cooling usage amid soaring temperatures.

The extreme heat sweeping across the Indian subcontinent during May has been linked to the El Niño climate phenomenon, which continues to fuel unusually high temperatures across several regions.

Residents in the southern city of Chennai, a major industrial and technology hub, reported repeated nighttime power cuts lasting between 40 minutes and an hour, disrupting daily life and remote work activities.

“South Chennai has witnessed repeated electricity outages over the past two days, with interruptions happening frequently,” said resident R. Hari, describing the difficulties of working from home during the blackouts.

India’s national grid operator, Grid India, said the country recorded an evening peak power deficit of approximately 2.57 gigawatts on Thursday, highlighting growing strains on the electricity network.

In a statement issued Friday, India’s Ministry of Power urged consumers to reduce unnecessary electricity usage.

“Although we are fully prepared to supply electricity as required, given the severe summer heat, we urge everyone to use power wisely and conserve energy,” the ministry said.

Power shortages in India typically intensify during evening hours, when electricity generation relies heavily on thermal and hydropower sources, while much of the daytime demand is partially met through solar energy production.

According to Disha Agarwal, senior programme lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, the ongoing heatwave is exposing vulnerabilities within India’s energy system as increasingly hot nights become more common.

She stressed the urgent need for India to accelerate the deployment of battery energy-storage systems to store excess solar power generated during the day for use at night, when demand remains elevated.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department warned that severe heatwave conditions are expected to continue through May 27 in New Delhi and across large parts of northern and eastern India.

Frustration over the outages has spilled onto social media, with residents in New Delhi and the neighboring city of Noida posting complaints on X about repeated nighttime blackouts.

In the eastern coastal state of Odisha, residents and local media also reported longer and more frequent electricity disruptions affecting both daytime and nighttime hours as the heatwave continues to intensify.