India's peak power demand and supply both reached 258 GW in August 2026, marking a 12% year-on-year increase from a relatively low base of 6%, according to data released by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

The spike came as the country recorded its warmest August since 1901, amid the influence of El Nino, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The month also saw energy consumption rise 13% to 169 billion units (BU), while evening peak demand hit 245 GW, up 8%.

Despite the monthly peak being fully met, non-solar hours experienced shortages of around 1-2 GW. Total installed capacity stood at 552 GW, with renewables accounting for 240 GW (44%) and thermal coal for 224 GW.

Total generation rose 11% to 177.8 BU, of which thermal contributed 116.8 BU and renewables supplied 35.3 BU. Solar generation grew 36% and wind 50%, while power exchange volumes jumped 20% to 13.9 BU.

The report highlights that the grid is becoming increasingly constrained not by renewable capacity additions but by the flexibility of the existing coal fleet.

"On high-solar days, the gap between gross and net demand approaches 82 GW. Coal is instructed down to its technical minimum through midday, beyond which renewable curtailment becomes necessary," it noted.

To bridge the evening gap, the CEA committee assessed retrofitting aged thermal plants instead of relying solely on costly storage. Two-shifting 151 units aged 35 years or more (totalling 34.5 GW) would cost INR 30,200-37,750 crore and release about 24 GW of flexible power, versus INR 175,500 crore for equivalent battery storage.

"For a buyer, the extra tariff works out to about INR 1.46 per unit of renewable energy the shutdown makes room for, versus INR 3.61 for the same job with four-hour storage," the report observed.

While such plants could gain 12-15 more years of life through two-shifting conversions, state-run generator NTPC dissented, citing 692 boiler tube leakages and studies showing deep cycling reduces plant life to 14-20 years.

"Neither unit for which NTPC supplied data had ever run below 55% load, and roughly 70% of recorded failures trace to age, coal quality and operating practice." It added.

"Damage accumulates through the frequency and magnitude of ramping rather than the depth of turndown," concluding that "flexibility in India is a settlement and control problem before it is a metallurgical one."