A daily electricity shortfall of about 4GW is disrupting industrial production as weak monsoon rains, hotter weather and critically low coal stocks put further pressure on India’s grid.
India’s power crunch is deepening as a weak monsoon, hotter weather and tighter coal inventories combine to strain the grid and squeeze industry. According to data from the Grid Controller of India, the country recorded an average daily electricity shortfall of about 4 gigawatts during the first 10 days of October, a gap large enough to affect factories, farms and households across several states. Bloomberg reported that power cuts and higher energy bills are already rippling through the economy as coal-fired plants, which generate nearly two-thirds of India’s electricity, struggle to keep up with demand.
The pressure has been building for months. LiveMint reported that electricity use reached 256 gigawatts in early September, driven by farmers pumping more water for irrigation and by stronger demand for air conditioning during hot, humid weather. The Central Electricity Authority has projected peak demand of 272 gigawatts this year, while dozens of thermal plants have been running with critically low coal stocks. In a separate report, LiveMint said India’s power demand in 2023 peaked unusually late, after a cooler summer and a drier monsoon, with coal inventories at thermal stations sliding to levels not seen earlier in the year.
The strain is hitting industrial users especially hard. In Chhattisgarh, small steel mills have reportedly been left without electricity for 10 to 12 hours a day, forcing production cuts, while in Punjab businesses are coping with repeated outages and higher costs from diesel generators. One steel wire plant operator in Ludhiana told The Times of India that unplanned shutdowns disrupt schedules, damage product quality and raise safety risks when machinery is repeatedly stopped and restarted. Industry groups say companies that generate their own power are also being squeezed because Coal India is prioritising supply to grid-connected plants, leaving captive users to pay more and wait longer for rail deliveries.
Government figures cited by Reuters and LiveMint suggest the shortage is likely to persist unless coal output, transport and power-system flexibility improve quickly. By October 10, nearly half of India’s coal-fired stations had fuel stocks below one-quarter of required levels, according to the Ministry of Power, while 58 thermal plants were said to be critically low on coal. Authorities have responded by pushing higher coal production and more rail wagon availability, but the underlying problem remains structural: India still relies heavily on coal at the same time as extreme weather is making demand less predictable and renewable backup harder to manage.
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