Union minister of state for power Shripad Yesso Naik told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that data centres are projected to consume 26.3 GW of power by 2031-32. He said demand from data centres will be met by renewable energy sources and will be integrated into the grid. The projection covers additional load from artificial intelligence data centres and reflects planning for anticipated large compute deployments.

India's peak demand has reached 270.8 GW and is projected to reach 272 GW this year and 300 GW in the next fiscal, the minister noted. Union power minister Manohar Lal also indicated that the nation's peak demand may touch 300 GW next year, prompting calls for utilities to prepare for record demand. Officials have therefore emphasised the need to align generation and distribution planning with evolving consumption patterns.

The ministry said development of transmission infrastructure is being undertaken in a phased manner to match growing electricity demand and planned generation capacity addition, including renewable energy. The National Electricity Plan (NEP) envisages developing the transmission system with an estimated investment of about Rs 9.16 tn by FY32. Grid modernisation measures under consideration include static synchronous compensator (STATCOM), battery energy storage systems (BESS) and synchronous condensers to enhance reliability and facilitate renewable integration. These measures aim to improve flexibility and grid support as variable renewable output rises.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has returned to the drawing board to reassess demand mapping amid concerns that concentration of data centres in a few states could skew consumption and affect grid stability. The CEA will ask states and distribution companies to incorporate data centre demand projections into resource adequacy plans and is assessing emerging loads under the 21st Electric Power Survey Exercise. The increase in demand will be considered in the NEP for FY28 to FY37, which the ministry expects to release by March 2027. Policymakers and operators are therefore urged to coordinate planning to accommodate AI-driven growth without compromising system security.