India’s electricity demand is expected to grow by a moderate 4 per cent in 2025 after cooler summer temperatures in the first half of the year reduced consumption and shifted peak load to September, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
In its mid-year update on electricity, IEA said that while global power demand is rising much faster than the forecast for the 2025-2026 period than it did during the past decade, electricity demand in China and India is expected to rise at a more moderate pace in 2025 than the rapid growth seen in 2024. “After 6 per cent growth in 2024, electricity demand in India is forecast to rise by 4 per cent this year,” it said.
IEA projected Chinese consumption to rise 5 per cent in 2025, down from 7 per cent in the previous year. However, China alone will account for 50 per cent of global electricity demand growth, as it did in 2024.
Citing estimates from the Ministry of Power for 2025, the IEA said peak load could reach 270 GW (8 per cent increase year-on-year) and shift to September instead of summer this year, although this should be fully met by rising generation capacity. To manage peak load growth, the government is mulling a proposal on AC standards that would cap temperature settings between 20 and 28 degrees Celsius, potentially reducing peak load by up to 60 gigawatt (GW) in 2035.
On generation, IEA said the combined output from solar PV and wind was 20 per cent higher in the first half of 2025 year-on-year, which reached an almost 14 per cent share in the mix, up from 11 per cent in the corresponding period last year. Solar PV generation grew 25 per cent and wind by slightly less than 30 per cent.
Follow us
