As India grapple with an intense heatwave, Adani Power, the country’s largest private thermal power generator, has ensured that its 12 plants are fully primed to support the peak demand.
During the peak demand in last 40-45 days, the company’s power plants have operated at an average Plant Load Factor of 77 per cent, a figure significantly higher than the national thermal average of about 65 per cent, and with plant availability at a high of 96 per cent, said a company official.
At recent peak demand of 272 GW and with thermal power meeting 72 per cent of the demand, the company contributed approximately 17 GW to the national grid, representing 6.4 per cent of the country’s peak demand, but with 3 per cent of total installed capacity, he said.
Anticipating higher than normal demand, the company undertook comprehensive pre-summer maintenance across its plants, while deploying digital monitoring and predictive AI tools to ensure efficient functioning of critical equipment under extreme heat conditions, he said.
High plant availability and low forced outages have supported consistent generation output with the temperature hitting 40 degree celcious. The company also activated its entire supply chain to ensure raw material inventory across its plants was higher than normative requirement.
Besides India, Adani Power also met 10 per cent of Bangladesh base demand through its Godda plant—India’s only cross-border power facility exclusively supplying electricity to the neighbouring country.
As India grapples with an intense and prolonged heatwave that has seen nearly 98 of the world’s 100 hottest cities located within its borders, the nation’s power demand has continues to surge and is expected to touch 270 GW this season.
While renewable energy continues to play a growing role in meeting daytime electricity demand, experts note that thermal power remains essential for ensuring grid stability, particularly during evening and night-time peaks when solar generation declines. The government has envisaged need for additional 100GW of thermal power capacity.
Adani Power is currently implementing India’s largest private-sector thermal power capital expenditure programs worth about $22 billion. The company aims to increase its total generation capacity to approximately 42 GW by 2031-32, up from its current operating capacity of 18.15 GW.