India's electricity sector recorded notable developments last week, with data centers emerging as a growing source of grid demand, local media reported on August 27, citing a report by JM Financial.

Policy shifts in Rajasthan, a battery storage pilot in Kerala, and procurement reforms in Andhra Pradesh all featured in the week's activity.

Average daily power consumption reached 5.52 TWh during the week, up 14% from a year ago, the brokerage said. Peak demand during solar hours hit a record 258 GW, 17% higher than the year-ago level, while non-solar peak demand rose 10% to 248 GW. The grid absorbed the additional load without major strain, with zero deficit during solar hours and a maximum shortfall of 1.28 GW in non-solar periods, the report said.

The Ministry of Power in India estimates that data centers across 11 major states will require 26.3 GW of additional power capacity. Grid connectivity applications covering about 17 GW have already been filed, while requests for the remaining 9.3 GW have yet to be submitted.

States advance renewable and storage initiatives

Rajasthan has revised its land allotment rules to speed up access to government land for renewable energy parks of 1 GW or larger, as well as green hydrogen projects, even before grid connections are secured. The state had previously designated around 500,000 acres of government land, sufficient for 100-125 GW of solar capacity.

Rajasthan has also reissued a tender for a 3.2 GW greenfield thermal power plant. The tender was first floated in December 2024, extended several times, and scrapped in June after regulators and climate groups raised doubts about its necessity.

Andhra Pradesh's chief minister has asked officials to develop plans for expanding power generation, including pumped storage projects at 130 reservoirs and closer coordination of solar, wind