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Against this backdrop of rising electricity demand, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that India generated 464 billion units (BU) of electricity in Q4 2025–26.
The data shows that electricity generation in the first quarter rose by 3% year-on-year (YoY), driven by growth in non-fossil power generation—especially solar, which increased by 24%.
This growth coincided with India’s peak power demand reaching a new all-time high of 256 GW on 26 April 2026. This surpassed previous peaks of 245 GW recorded on 9 January 2026 and 250 GW on 30 May 2024. However, the study also highlighted rising instances of renewable curtailment as a key challenge in integrating clean energy into India’s grid.
After recording an all-time peak power demand of 250 GW on 30 May 2024, India’s peak electricity demand reached a new Q4 high of 245 GW on 9 January 2026, with overall demand growing by nearly 3% YoY. However, this marks the slowest YoY growth in Q4 since 2020–21.
Notably, 88 out of 90 days recorded peak demand during solar generation hours. During the Q4 2025–26 peak demand period of 245 GW, thermal generation accounted for 67% (165 GW) of the total, followed by solar at 20% (48 GW).
Maharashtra recorded the highest state-level peak demand (32 GW) in Q4 2025–26, followed by Gujarat (25 GW) and Uttar Pradesh (23 GW).
Coal power plant load factor (PLF) fell from 72% to 69% in Q4 2025–26, despite rising demand. Gas PLF increased from 10% to 12%, while nuclear rose marginally from 78% to 79%. Solar capacity utilisation factor (CUF) declined slightly from 23% to 22%.
India’s total electricity generation reached 464 BU in Q4 2025–26, up 3% YoY. While coal and lignite generation declined by 1%, generation from solar, wind, nuclear, and large hydro increased by 24%, 11%, 10%, and 7%, respectively.
Solar generation reached 48.9 BU, with the highest daily output recorded on 27 March 2026 at 658 million units (MU).
Despite higher renewable generation, curtailment levels remained significant in Q4 2025–26. Around 27 GW (72 MU) of solar and 4 GW (6 MU) of wind capacity were curtailed.
An additional 83 GW (103 MU) of solar and 11 GW (17.5 MU) of wind were curtailed under India’s Tertiary Reserve Ancillary Services (TRAS)—a manually activated power system balancing mechanism used to address grid congestion.
Gujarat recorded the highest curtailment levels, highlighting grid integration challenges in regions with high renewable penetration.
Renewables led capacity additions in Q4 2025–26, with 16.2 GW added, compared with 2.3 GW of thermal and 0.5 GW of large hydro.
India commissioned 2.3 GW of new thermal capacity—entirely coal-based—during the quarter, down 18% YoY, while no thermal capacity was retired.
Meanwhile, 39.4 GW of coal capacity remains under construction, with most projects still in early stages.
“India’s rising power demand is increasingly being met by renewables, particularly during daytime peak hours. However, rising renewable curtailment shows that grid infrastructure and flexibility are not keeping pace with clean energy growth. With stronger transmission networks, more flexible grid operations, and faster battery deployment, a larger share of evening and night-time demand can also be met through non-fossil sources,” said Manoj Kumar, India Analyst at CREA.
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