The spectre of coal over climate change as electricity demand soars

Record summer heat has sent electricity demand soaring. Despite the focus on renewables, thermal power will meet additional demand, sending sustainability targets for a toss

Summers last a decade in the Game of Thrones, against a three-month Indian summer. But the Starks and the Lannisters did not use air-conditioning to cool their mansions. Not so the case here.

Electricity demand will grow at its highest pace in a decade in 2023-24, as Indian homes and offices rely on coolers and air conditioners to secure themselves against blistering heat waves. That will send peak power consumption to new records, and sustainability targets for a toss. The International Energy Agency (IEA) attributes a surge in power demand in India in the longer term in large part to a