India requires significant battery storage boost as solar reshapes power grid: EAC-PM paper

09/07/2026

new delhi, JUl 8: India’s power sector has entered a new phase where the main challenge is no longer producing sufficient energy but ensuring power is accessible when it is needed, as per a new working paper published by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
The paper, titled “The Duck and the Camel: Tracing the Net Load on the Indian Power Grid”, makes the case that the country’s power system has undergone a fundamental transformation due to the rapid expansion of solar capacity, making large-scale battery storage and adaptable grid management essential for future energy security. India reached her highest-ever electricity demand of 270.8 GW on May 21. Even though demand peaked in the afternoon, electricity rates didn't reach their highest until after sunset, demonstrating how the grid is severely strained by a decline in solar generation.
According to the report, flexibility the capacity to quickly modify supply as solar energy fluctuates throughout the day has replaced generation capacity as the primary constraint on India’s power system. The study finds two different seasonal patterns in India’s electricity demand using grid data at 15-minute intervals.
The country’s net load total demand less solar generation forms the well-known “duck curve” during the summer, which is marked by a sharp evening ramp as solar output falls short and a deep midday dip when solar power is abundant. But in the winter, the grid looks like a double-humped “Bactrian camel”, with solar creating a trough at midday and power demand rising in the morning and evening.
The study notes that whereas the morning fall in conventional generation has almost tripled during the same period, the evening ramp during summer has doubled from around 36 GW in May 2023 to about 74 GW in May 2026.
It highlights that India has more electricity during the day but less after dusk.
During sunny hours, average energy costs in Indian Energy Exchange’s Day Ahead Market have dropped significantly, hitting as low as Rs 1.11 per unit in May 2026. In the evening, however, prices have increased around the exchange’s Rs 10 per unit ceiling. Over the last three years, the gap between peak and trough prices has grown considerably, suggesting a growing mismatch between daytime surplus and evening demand.
Furthermore, the report also notes that because the grid was unable to absorb the excess renewable power, it curtailed an average of 24 GWh of solar energy every day in May 2026, which is equivalent to more than 25 per cent of Delhi’s typical daily electricity consumption.

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