<p>Bengaluru: With fossil fuels continuing to be the source of 53% of the 461 GW electricity consumed in India, a new study urges the governments to factor in the demand arising from changing temperatures and heatwaves for a comprehensive management of demand and supply while transitioning to green energy.</p><p>The study by Manish Ram, Rahul Kumar, Sachin Pratap and Ujjwala Sahay of Climate Compatible Futures pointed to decadal change in temperatures. The northern belt of Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan has seen a +2-5% rise in annual temperature compared to the 2015 numbers while several central and north-west states saw over 15% increase. In Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, mercury crossed 45 degrees Celsius during summer.</p>.People in India each saw 20 heatwave days in 2024, 6.5 linked with climate change: Report.<p>This means a steady increase in power demand in urbanised industrial states with cooling loads for air conditioning and refrigeration doubling annual summer peak demand. The surge in emissions during summer can be correlated with the increased reliance on fossil fuel due to high electricity demand and low renewable generation. In southern states, the decadal increase in Karnataka was +78.8%, whereas it was slightly higher in Telangana (+93,8%) and Andhra Pradesh (91.6%). Across the country, the annual average peak demand went up from about 154 GW in 2015 to 246 GW in 2024.</p><p>The study said governments have to incorporate electricity demand in heat action plans, going a step further from addressing health and disaster response. It said integrated electricity planning, from boosting the green energy installed capacity to maintenance of transformers, feeds and substations and back-up solutions, have to be taken up. "There is an urgent need for investments in storage solutions, flexible generation, resilient smart grids and demand-side management to increase penetration of renewables," it said.</p><p>Ram noted that states hit by heat-driven spikes in power demand must urgently expand renewable energy and storage capacities to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. "Impacts of continued use of fossil fuel for power generation are now being seen in states that are mostly dependent on renewable energy, which necessitates better integration of renewables with storage and smart grids," Ram said.</p><p>Aarti Khosla, Director, Climate Trends said, “The findings show that India’s heatwaves and power shortages can no longer be treated as separate crises. They are converging. It is clear that the only durable way out is to urgently upgrade our grid, invest in storage and enable flexible, climate-resilient electricity systems," she said.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: With fossil fuels continuing to be the source of 53% of the 461 GW electricity consumed in India, a new study urges the governments to factor in the demand arising from changing temperatures and heatwaves for a comprehensive management of demand and supply while transitioning to green energy.</p><p>The study by Manish Ram, Rahul Kumar, Sachin Pratap and Ujjwala Sahay of Climate Compatible Futures pointed to decadal change in temperatures. The northern belt of Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan has seen a +2-5% rise in annual temperature compared to the 2015 numbers while several central and north-west states saw over 15% increase. In Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, mercury crossed 45 degrees Celsius during summer.</p>.People in India each saw 20 heatwave days in 2024, 6.5 linked with climate change: Report.<p>This means a steady increase in power demand in urbanised industrial states with cooling loads for air conditioning and refrigeration doubling annual summer peak demand. The surge in emissions during summer can be correlated with the increased reliance on fossil fuel due to high electricity demand and low renewable generation. In southern states, the decadal increase in Karnataka was +78.8%, whereas it was slightly higher in Telangana (+93,8%) and Andhra Pradesh (91.6%). Across the country, the annual average peak demand went up from about 154 GW in 2015 to 246 GW in 2024.</p><p>The study said governments have to incorporate electricity demand in heat action plans, going a step further from addressing health and disaster response. It said integrated electricity planning, from boosting the green energy installed capacity to maintenance of transformers, feeds and substations and back-up solutions, have to be taken up. "There is an urgent need for investments in storage solutions, flexible generation, resilient smart grids and demand-side management to increase penetration of renewables," it said.</p><p>Ram noted that states hit by heat-driven spikes in power demand must urgently expand renewable energy and storage capacities to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. "Impacts of continued use of fossil fuel for power generation are now being seen in states that are mostly dependent on renewable energy, which necessitates better integration of renewables with storage and smart grids," Ram said.</p><p>Aarti Khosla, Director, Climate Trends said, “The findings show that India’s heatwaves and power shortages can no longer be treated as separate crises. They are converging. It is clear that the only durable way out is to urgently upgrade our grid, invest in storage and enable flexible, climate-resilient electricity systems," she said.</p>