Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: India’s power sector saw increased capacity commissioning in July, aided by strong policy incentives, adding 2 GW of conventional and 3.2 GW of renewable capacity, a report said on September 3. This addition has taken year-to-date (YTD) additions in FY 26 to 21 GW, according to an HSBC Global Investment Research report.
The research report projected the commissioning of 11.7 GW of thermal power, 3.8 GW of hydropower, and 36 GW of solar power during FY26. The overall power demand increased 4.4 per cent YoY in August and over 2 per cent in July upon a low base.
“However, it is important to note that, despite the growth last month, power demand hasn’t crossed August 2023 highs. This proves the importance of weather-related disruption in determining the strength of India’s power demand and its greater weighting than manufacturing-led power growth,” the report added.
Cooler weather led to a reduction in thermal plant load to 64 per cent Plant Load Factor (PLF), the lowest level for July in ten years. A rise in renewable power (excluding hydro) share brings to light the question of grid stability and state discom acceptability, unless battery installation picks up fast, the HSBC report noted.
