Multiple Indian states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, are urgently requesting additional power from the federal government to prevent widespread outages. The current crisis stems from a sharp decline in hydropower generation—exacerbated by El Niño-related weather patterns—coupled with ongoing maintenance at several coal plants. With federal authorities struggling to redistribute a limited surplus, the situation has left regions like Punjab already grappling with severe daily blackouts.

The core of the issue lies in the growing mismatch between daytime solar capacity and evening electricity demand. While India has aggressively expanded its renewable infrastructure, a lack of sufficient battery storage prevents the country from utilizing surplus daytime solar power after sunset. As industrial demand remains high and coal stockpiles dwindle, experts note that poor long-term planning by state governments has compounded the pressure, leaving the power ministry to push for faster integration of energy storage solutions to bridge the gap.