India produced 464 BU of power in Q4FY26, up 3% over previous year

NEW DELHI: India generated 464 billion units (BU) of electricity in Q4 of 2025-26 financial year, up 3% year-on-year, driven by strong growth in non-fossil fuel-based power generation, particularly solar, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said on Thursday.While coal- and lignite-based generation declined by 1%, generation from solar and wind increased by 24% and 11%, respectively. Solar generation reached 48.9 BU in Q4, with the highest daily output of 658 million units (MU) recorded on March 2, the research organisation mentioned in its first quarterly energy snapshot for India.It, however, said that rising instances of renewable energy curtailment highlighted growing challenges in integrating clean energy into the grid.

A significant amount of clean energy was not utilised during the last quarter of FY26, with around 27 GW (72 MU) of solar and 4 GW (6 MU) of wind power being curtailed. An additional 83 GW (103 MU) of solar and 11 GW (17.5 MU) of wind power were curtailed under India’s tertiary reserve ancillary service, a manually activated power system balancing service used to resolve grid congestion.“India’s rising power demand is increasingly being met by renewables, particularly during daytime peak hours.

However, rising renewable curtailment shows that grid infrastructure and flexibility are not keeping pace with clean energy growth. With stronger transmission networks, more flexible grid operations and faster battery deployment, a larger share of evening and night-time demand can also be met through non-fossil sources,” said Manoj Kumar, India Analyst, CREA.Gujarat recorded the highest curtailment, highlighting grid integration challenges in high-renewables regions.After recording an all-time peak demand of 250 GW on May 30, 2024, India’s peak electricity demand reached a new Q4 high of 245 GW on Jan 9, 2026. Thermal generation accounted for 67% (165 GW) of the total, followed by solar at 20% (48 GW). Maharashtra recorded the highest state-level peak demand (32 GW) in Q4FY26, followed by Gujarat (25 GW) and Uttar Pradesh (23 GW).