BENGALURU: Karnataka faces power outages with a rise in power demand of 2,000-3,000 MW on a daily basis. While Energy Supply Corporations Limited (ESCOM) staffers, farmers and consumers point to the power cuts, officials in the energy department said maintenance outages were being undertaken.
The state recorded a peak demand of 20,094 MW on September 11, 2026. Officials said this was the highest so far. Earlier, on March 13, 2026, the state had recorded the highest peak demand of 18,655 MW. On September 21, 2026, the peak demand was 16,719MW at 11 am.
“Power demand has shot up due to a rise in maximum temperatures and poor monsoon. The reservoirs are around 60% full; thus, the load has shifted to thermal and renewable sources (solar and wind). Though there is a rise in solar power generation, there is no storage mechanism. Power cuts are happening, and it is being termed as maintenance work,” officials said.
As per data, solar power generation on September 21 was 32.34million units (MU), and wind was 13.55MU. While thermal power generation was 78.35MU. Power generation from three major hydel sources (Sharavathi, NPH and Varahi) was 34.40MU and 11.76MU from other hydel sources.
“The impacts of El Niño and the drought were well known. But few precautionary steps were taken. At many places we are unable to supply seven hours of uninterrupted power to farmers to their irrigation pumpsets. The rise in power demand during the summer was an indication for the government to take preventive steps. But nothing much was planned for September and October,” sources in the ESCOM said.
The sources also pointed to the particular rise in the cooling load from air conditioners among industrial and commercial consumers this month. It is not just in Bengaluru, but a steep rise is also being recorded from Mangaluru, Kalaburagi and other surrounding districts.
Additional Chief Secretary, Energy Department, Gaurav Gupta said there is a rise in power demand by 3,000MW, but there is no need to panic as all the required measures are being taken.
He said there are annual and monthly plans to address the rise in demand up to 20-25%, but this September it has increased by around 30-35%. Efforts are also being made to purchase power from other states on a short-term and long-term basis. But there is a rise in demand across the country, particularly in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In the case of the northern states, there is a shortage of coal, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, he said.
