Electricity generation in India rose by 11% in the second quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, with the country still heavily reliant on coal-powered generation despite the recent growth of renewables, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has said.
Coal and lignite accounted for around 66% of total generation, up 12.5% from the same period a year earlier. Non-fossil electricity generation, including renewables, hydropower and nuclear, reached a record high, however, with solar generation rising by 39% year-on-year and wind generation rising 29%.
‘In Q2 FY2026–27, electricity generation increased 11% year-on-year, with renewable generation showing strong growth,’ CREA noted. ‘Coal generation remained high, keeping coal consumption elevated even as power-plant stocks declined through the quarter. By 1 October, 85 plants had coal stocks below 25% of their normative requirement, highlighting growing pressure on the coal supply chain.’
On 30 September, solar generation reached a record high, with 705 MU generated, surpassing the previous record that was set in Q1. However, grid and operational constraints continued to limit the use of renewable electricity.
Peak electricity demand reached 270 GW on 16 July, 18% above the 230 GW recorded during the corresponding quarter in 2025–26. On a regional basis, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra recorded the highest state-level peaks, at 27 GW each, followed by Gujarat at 23 GW and Tamil Nadu at 20 GW.
New capacity additions
Renewables led new capacity additions during the quarter, with 7 GW added compared with 0.8 GW of thermal capacity, the data showed. Around 648 MW of thermal capacity was retired.
Overall, as of August 2026, India’s installed electricity capacity stood at 555 GW. Non-fossil sources accounted for approximately 55% of total capacity, with solar capacity at 168 GW and wind at 59 GW. A further 44 GW of coal-fired capacity was under construction, although nearly 40 GW of that pipeline remained below 50% completion.
To support the growth in renewables, energy storage continues to expand – around 9.1 GWh of battery storage is currently operational, with a further 3 GWh expected by December 2026. Storage supplied up to 5.5 GW during nighttime peak demand, meeting between 1% and 2% of national electricity demand, the data showed.
CREA’s data was sourced from GRID-INDIA, the Ministry of Coal, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), and the National Power Portal (NPP). Read more here.
