Srinagar, Aug 07: Despite the rising electricity demand, Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a power supply gap of less than one per cent during the first six months of 2026.
The Ministry of Power has said the country has largely overcome power shortages through substantial capacity addition and grid strengthening measures.
According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Power, the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh met almost their entire electricity requirement between January 2026 and June 2026, with unmet demand ranging from 0.1 per cent to 0.9 per cent.
The data shows that in January, J&K and Ladakh required 1,966 million units (MU) of electricity, of which 1,961 MU was supplied, leaving a shortfall of just 0.3 per cent. The supply gap stood at 0.1 per cent in February, 0.2 per cent in March, 0.3 per cent in April, 0.7 per cent in May and 0.9 per cent in June, the highest during the six-month period.
According to the details, India currently has an installed power generation capacity of 548.86 GW and has added 324.7 GW since April 2014, transforming the country from being power-deficit to power-sufficient.
It reveals that despite a 12 per cent increase in peak electricity demand during April-June 2026 due to El Niño conditions, the all-time high national peak demand of 270.8 GW was successfully met in May and again in July this year.
The ministry also outlined measures being taken to strengthen the country’s power infrastructure in view of increasing heat waves linked to climate change. These include expansion of thermal, hydro, nuclear and renewable generation capacity, addition of battery and pumped storage projects, strengthening of transmission infrastructure and implementation of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) to improve reliability and quality of electricity supply.
It has also been revealed that the average daily power supply in rural areas has improved from 12.5 hours in 2013-14 to 22.6 hours in 2025-26, while urban supply has increased from 22.1 hours to 23.4 hours during the same period.
