India’s peak power demand touched an all-time high of 260.45 GW on Tuesday as severe heatwave conditions across north, central and western India sharply increased electricity consumption, pushing the country closer to the government’s projected summer peak demand of 270-271 GW.

The ministry of power said the record demand of 260.45 GW was successfully met at 15:40 hours without any supply shortfall, surpassing Monday’s peak demand of 257.37 GW and the previous all-time high of 256.11 GW recorded on April 25 this year.

“Today, the peak power demand (solar hours) of 260.45 GW was met successfully at 15:40 hrs. This is a new high surpassing yesterday’s peak demand (solar hours) of 257.37 GW,” the ministry said in a post on X.

The surge in demand comes amid intensifying heatwave conditions across large parts of the country, with temperatures crossing 45 degrees Celsius in several regions and cooling demand rising sharply due to higher usage of air-conditioners, coolers and refrigeration systems.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heatwave to severe heatwave conditions across northwest, central and eastern India over the next several days, particularly across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.

Heatwave conditions are also likely across Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Odisha and parts of Andhra Pradesh.

The sustained rise in temperatures is expected to further increase electricity consumption in the coming days as cooling load intensifies across residential, commercial and industrial segments.

Delhi has also witnessed a sharp increase in electricity demand this month. According to State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) data, Delhi’s peak power demand touched a record 7,776 MW at 3:30 PM on Tuesday after rising to 7,542 MW during the day and 7,600 MW during night hours on Monday.

The capital had crossed the 7,000 MW mark in April itself this year — earlier than in 2024 and 2025 — highlighting the impact of an early and intense summer.

SLDC projections indicate Delhi’s peak demand could cross 9,000 MW this season against the previous all-time high of 8,656 MW recorded in 2025.