Gujarat is India's top industrial state, and it has asked factories to shift production away from the evening peak on a voluntary basis. The request covers 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and follows record demand and low coal stocks at power plants3, 1. A state utility, Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Ltd, sent text messages to industries and consumers asking them to conserve power in those hours1.
The measure is an advisory, not a mandatory cut. Ajit Shah, president of the Sanand Industries Association, said: "The government has issued an advisory asking industries to voluntarily not use power between 5 p.m. to 11 p.m."2. Plants with continuous manufacturing processes are not covered, according to information from the association2. Shah said the state first made staggered power cuts compulsory and then made them optional, with districts scheduled on a rotating weekly basis2.
Industrialists in Morbi, the ceramic hub, said the staggered outage will affect smaller MSME units there2. Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel chaired a review meeting with Energy Minister Rushikesh Patel and senior officials on 20 October2.
Record peak, thin evenings
Gujarat's peak demand touched an all-time high of 29,822 MW on 16 October, up 36.6% from 21,822 MW a year earlier, and daily consumption rose 27% to 574 million units2. The state has 79,508 MW of installed capacity, but about 53,500 MW of that is renewable, including roughly 36,000 MW of solar and 17,000 MW of wind2. Solar output falls to zero after sunset while industrial and farm demand stays high, and agricultural demand alone has reached about 12,000 MW a day2.
Nationally, daily peak demand has been running 45 GW to 50 GW higher than a year earlier, according to the power ministry official3. In September, the gap between demand and supply widened to 560 million kilowatt-hours, the highest since August 2023, as coal-fired generation rose 13.3% and hydropower fell 20%4. Coal stocks at power stations have fallen about 5% since the start of October4.
Centre points to record coal deliveries
On 22 October, a senior power ministry official said coal deliveries to power plants are running at a record 2.6 million tonnes a day. The official said supply is expected to normalise soon3. The federal power ministry has allocated additional power to Gujarat and there is no power or coal shortage in the state, the official said3. Gujarat state authorities declined to comment on the report3.
The same official said plants with less than three days of coal numbered 96 on 19 October, up from 60 in mid-September. Lower hydropower output because of El Nino is adding pressure on coal-fired plants, the official said3. Gujarat has also sought additional coal and power from the federal government1.
What Gujarat has lined up
Gujarat's short-term power purchases total 2,990 MW for October. The state has contracted 1,740 MW for November and 1,335 MW for December2. It will also draw 379 MW from NTPC's Farakka plant in November. A further 500 MW comes long term from Assam's share of central generation, and another 500 MW from the Centre's unallocated pool, the state government's review said2. The Union coal ministry has assured 10 to 11 railway rakes a day until November, rising to 13 to 14 rakes a day after that2.
Gujarat, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh are seeking short-term coal power through tenders, according to power ministry data1. India has shelved a proposal to mandate coal imports because of rising costs and a weaker rupee, and coal reserves have reached the lowest level in nearly five years5.