India's peak power demand may cross 400 GW mark by 2031-32: Power Secretary

India's peak power demand may surpass the projected 384 gigawatt (GW) mark and cross even a new level of 400 GW by 2031-32, Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the CII-Smart Metering Conference, he said that peak power demand had already reached the 250 GW mark in May.

"The way power demand has grown in some states in the last two years, the demand will touch 384 GW and may easily cross 400 GW by 2031-32. For this we must have an installed (power generation) capacity of 900 GW," Agarwal said.

The government projection for this year's peak power demand was 260 GW.

Later speaking to reporters, the secretary said the anticipated 260 GW peak demand is expected to reach by September.

At the onset of the monsoon, the peak power demand has been showing a downward trend over the last few days.

As per official data, the peak power demand was at 209 GW on Monday.