India grid, 24 October: power shortage nearly closes as demand cools
India's all-India energy shortage fell to 0.22 million units (MU) on 24 October, from 40.47 MU on 6 October, mainly because demand eased. Coal still supplied about 73% of generation.
A data update from FactIQ, written from Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation India figures. What is FactIQ?
Key figures
- India all-India energy shortage, 24 October
- 0.22 MUdown from 40.47 MU on 6 October and 31.32 MU on 14 October2026-09-072026-10-24India Energy shortage - All India
- India shortage at peak demand in non-solar hours, 24 October
- 75 MWagainst 4,680 MW on 14 October and 5,812 MW on 3 October2026-09-072026-10-24India all-India shortage at maximum demand in non-solar hours
- India all-India energy met, 24 October
- 4,999.86 MUabout 9% below the 5,450–5,530 MU run between 5 and 14 October2026-09-072026-10-24India Energy met - All India
- India coal generation, 24 October
- 3,971.77 MUabout 73% of the 5,439.56 MU gross generation total, up from roughly 68.5% on 6 October2026-09-072026-10-24India Gross generation, Coal - All India
Lower demand, not extra supply, closed the gap
Energy met is the electricity the grid actually delivered to consumers. It was 4,999.86 million units (MU), or million kilowatt-hours, on 24 October, according to daily data from Grid-India. The day before it was 5,010.97 MU. Both days were about 9% below the 5,450–5,530 MU run between 5 and 14 October. Maximum demand met during the day was 233,334 megawatts (MW), against 260,730 MW on 5 October.Shortages are now close to zero
Energy shortage measures demand that the grid could not supply.- All-India energy shortage was 0.22 MU, down from 40.47 MU on 6 October and 31.32 MU on 14 October.
- Shortage at peak demand in non-solar hours, when there is no solar output, was 75 MW. It was 4,680 MW on 14 October and 5,812 MW on 3 October.
Coal is carrying more of the load as hydro and renewables fade
Hydro generation keeps falling after the monsoon. It was 341.12 MU, down from 496.96 MU on 14 October. Output from wind, solar and other renewable sources was 787.67 MU, compared with 964.29 MU on 10 October. Solar alone was 627.55 MU, compared with roughly 700–735 MU in early October. Coal generation was 3,971.77 MU. That is about 73% of the 5,439.56 MU gross generation total, up from roughly 68.5% on 6 October. Coal plants are taking on this larger share while their stockpiles stay low.Plant outages are within their recent range
Total generation outage, the generating capacity that is offline, was 39,784 MW. That is within its recent range of 34–40.5 gigawatts (GW).Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation India. See all MOSPI data in FactIQ.
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