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India’s electricity system has moved decisively beyond chronic shortages into a more complex phase of managing utilisation, grid stress and industrial self-generation, as rapid renewable energy growth reshapes—but does not yet replace—coal’s central role, according to the Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) All India Electricity Statistics-General Review 2025 report.
India’s installed electricity generation capacity rose to 441.97 gigawatt (GW) as of March 2024, while total power generation crossed 1,734 billion unit (BU), signalling a structural shift in the country’s power mix led by clean energy expansion.
Renewable energy sources, excluding large hydro, accounted for 143.64 GW of installed capacity—up from just 34.99 GW in 2014—representing a compound annual growth rate of over 15 per cent during the decade. Renewable electricity generation reached 225.8 billion units in 2023–24, more than three times its level a decade earlier.
Yet despite accounting for over one-third of installed utility capacity, renewables contributed only around 14 per cent of utility electricity generation, highlighting a widening gap between capacity addition and actual energy delivered.
Thermal power—dominated by coal—remained the backbone of India’s electricity system, generating 1,326.5 billion units, or over 76 per cent of total utility generation in 2023-24. While coal’s absolute output continues to rise, its share of installed capacity has steadily declined as renewable additions accelerate and demand growth moderates.
The data underscores India’s emerging dual power system: renewables increasingly meet capacity expansion, peak demand and renewable purchase obligations, while coal continues to supply the bulk of round-the-clock energy and grid stability.
India has largely conquered its historic power deficit. Energy shortages have narrowed to around 0.1 per cent, and peak shortages have effectively fallen to zero, marking a transition from scarcity to adequacy.
However, the bottleneck has shifted from generation to urban distribution networks, operational reliability and local congestion, particularly as demand patterns change.
India’s overall installed capacity, including captive plants, stood at 522.9 GW, with captive power contributing 80.9 GW, largely from industrial steam-based plants and diesel generators.
Captive generation now exceeds 235 billion units annually, and is overwhelmingly coal-based. The iron and steel sector alone accounts for over 60 billion units of captive electricity generation and consumes more than 83 billion units from its own plants, creating a parallel, carbon-intensive grid largely insulated from utility-level decarbonisation efforts.
The CEA data suggest that India’s national climate goals cannot be met without transforming these industrial self-generation fleets.
Total electricity generation from utilities rose 7.2 per cent year-on-year in 2023-24. Per capita electricity consumption increased to 1,400 kilowatt-hours, up from 1,331 units a year earlier, and nearly double the level in 2014.
While industry remains the largest consumer at 41.6 per cent, domestic and agricultural demand together now exceed 41 per cent, with commercial services, rail traction and irrigation showing some of the fastest growth. Load growth is increasingly being shaped by urbanisation, electrified transport and farm demand, rather than heavy manufacturing alone.
Transmission and distribution losses fell to 17.6 per cent of electricity available in 2023-24, amounting to 288.9 billion units, down sharply from over 30 per cent in the mid-2000s—a major reform achievement.
But losses remain high in certain regions, led by the Northeastern region at 20.1 per cent, followed by the northern region at 19.8 per cent, indicating that future efficiency gains will depend on targeted governance, consumer engagement and state-level reforms, rather than national schemes alone.
India’s power infrastructure has expanded in parallel with generation. Transmission and distribution lines now span 14.7 million circuit kilometres, compared with just 29,271 km in 1950, while 100 per cent village electrification has been achieved under the government’s current definition.
The CEA data also points to a changing role for hydro power. With large hydro capacity at 46.9 GW and much of the western and southern potential already 70-80 per cent developed, the remaining opportunity lies in eastern and Northeastern basins, where hydro and pumped storage could provide grid flexibility rather than bulk energy.
The CEA said the trends reflect the long-term impact of the Electricity Act, 2003, which opened generation to private players, enabled open access and mandated renewable purchase obligations—policies that continue to reshape India’s power sector.
Taken together, the data suggests India’s energy transition has entered a new phase—one focused less on building capacity and more on using it efficiently, strengthening urban delivery, integrating storage and addressing coal-heavy captive power. As renewables continue to surge, the central challenge ahead will be managing coal’s gradual shift from growth driver to balancing backbone without undermining reliability or climate goals.