India's Winter Peak Power Demand Surpasses Last Summer's Record Levels

India's peak power demand this winter has surpassed last summer's record on at least two occasions, reaching 245 GW on January 9 and 243 GW on January 13, exceeding the previous high of 242 GW from June 12 last year. Experts attribute this unusual pattern to a combination of a subdued summer, due to mild temperatures and rainfall reducing cooling needs, and a colder-than-normal winter increasing heating demand. Such winter peaks exceeding summer levels were last seen during pandemic-related disruptions in 2020-21. Peak demand figures represent brief maximum loads recorded during the day.