India is currently facing a massive energy crisis as an intense heatwave pushes electricity demand to an unprecedented high of over 270 gigawatts. The extreme weather, exacerbated by the El Niño pattern, has forced the government to urge citizens to practice energy conservation as the power grid struggles to keep pace with the surge. In major hubs like Chennai, residents are reporting frequent nighttime outages, which are severely disrupting daily life and remote work capabilities.

The strain on the infrastructure is particularly acute during the evening hours when solar generation drops off and the grid becomes heavily reliant on thermal and hydropower. Experts, including those from the think-tank CEEW, suggest that the current situation highlights a critical need to accelerate the adoption of battery storage technologies to better utilize surplus solar energy at night. With severe heatwave conditions forecasted to persist across northern and eastern India through late May, authorities remain under pressure to manage supply gaps as citizens across New Delhi, Noida, and Odisha continue to report widespread disruptions.