New Delhi: The Ministry of Power urged citizens to use power “wisely” and “judiciously” on May 22, after power demand in the country broke records for four consecutive days, from May 18 to 21.The ministry attributed this huge surge in power demand to the use of cooling appliances during the ongoing heatwave.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) meanwhile announced on May 22 that the heatwave is likely to continue for at least six days across several parts of India.Record-breaking power demandAccording to a statement by the Ministry, electricity demand “has broken all previous records” in the last four days.The daytime peak electricity demand — which usually occurs between 2 pm and 4 pm — was 257.37 gigawatts (GW) on May 18, 260.45 GW on May 19, 265.44 GW on May 20 and 270.82 GW on May 21, per data released by the Ministry.“Today’s peak demand was met with the following mix: Thermal 62.8%, Solar 22.0%, Wind 5.0%, Hydro 5.8% and rest from other sources. The availability of coal at the Thermal Power Plants is adequate and the supplies are being effectively monitored,” the ministry said.The demand for power that was met on May 18 surpassed the last peak demand of 256.1 GW recorded on April 25 this year, per the Ministry. On this day, 30% of the energy demand was met by renewable energy. According to Down to Earth, solar energy met 24% of the demand, while coal provided 66% of the demand.The peak on April 25 this year had been far higher than the estimate predicted by Grid India in its weekly forecast for April 20-26 April (239.5 GW). According to Reuters, Grid-India data showed that India operated about 9.6 GW of gas-fired capacity and ramped up coal-fired generation to around 187 GW to meet the surge in power demands then.The previous highest power demand had been in May 2024, at 250 GW.Heatwave is the culprit “Due to the intense heat wave in the country, the demand for electricity is also increasing,” the ministry’s statement on May 22 read. “Although we are prepared to supply electricity as required, due to the intense summer, let us all try to use electricity wisely and judiciously,” it recommended.An intense heatwave had driven the surge in power demand in April too. Reports had noted that India’s energy needs usually hit the levels it did on April 25 only in June-July when the summer usually hits parts of northern India in full swing, and that the surge in demand was driven largely by cooling needs as people run cooling appliances in their homes. Heatwave to continue, says IMDMeanwhile, the heatwave is still holding strong across several parts of India.Per the IMD, maximum temperatures ranged between 40-47°C over northwest, west, central India, as well as the adjoining east, north peninsular and southeast coastal India on May 21. Banda in Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest maximum temperature of 47.6°C. Banda has been in the news before for extremely high temperatures.The IMD also announced on May 22 that heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are likely to continue across the plains of northwest India, central and east India, and parts of peninsular India for the next six days at least.Maximum temperatures in Delhi are expected to range from 44 to 46°C till May 25.“There may be moderate health risks, particularly for vulnerable groups such as infants, the elderly, and individuals with chronic illnesses,” the IMD warned with regards to Delhi on May 22.It also issued an advisory for citizens to avoid prolonged exposure to heat. “Wear lightweight, light-colored, and loose cotton clothing. Cover your head using a cloth, hat, or umbrella when outdoors,” the IMD warned.The ongoing heatwave hit central and northwest India including Delhi on May 17, as per a press release by the IMD.It had then warned that heatwave conditions – which could also turn into a “severe heatwave” in parts of Uttar Pradesh – would prevail till May 23 in some parts of these regions. However, there has been no let up in this heatwave so far.