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India Faces Grid Stability Concerns Amid Record Summer Power Demand

India narrowly avoided a power grid instability event last week as surging electricity demand during an intense June heatwave caused actual power flow to exceed safe transmission capacity limits. On 15 June 2025, power flow from the western to northern corridor reached 24.14 GW, breaching the available transfer capability (ATC) of 22 GW, according to a notice issued by Grid India Corp, the national grid operator.

Utilities in northern India were instructed to either reduce withdrawals or increase local generation to prevent grid collapse. The spike in demand was largely driven by rising temperatures in northern states, underscoring the country’s vulnerability during peak summer conditions.

Experts, including Vikram V of ICRA, warned that such transmission congestion and unscheduled overdrawals by distribution companies (discoms) pose significant risks to grid security. He highlighted that while such overdrawing was common a decade ago, the risks have become more critical with growing demand and reliance on interstate transfers.

India's grid stability is crucial, especially given its past grid collapse in July-August 2012 that affected over 600 million people. While India now has a unified national grid, managing high peak loads and congestion remains a pressing concern, necessitating better planning, local generation, and transmission upgrades.