Summer heat triggers power cuts in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
North India is dealing with power cuts as the summer heat pushes electricity use to new highs.
Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have seen outages, leading to complaints and protests.
Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has told officials to keep the lights on 24/7, while Uttarakhand's Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stepped in after hearing from frustrated residents.
Even Gurugram's metro faced disruptions because of the shortage.
Nationwide demand peaks at 290 GW
Uttar Pradesh saw its first major shortfall since 2018, with unmet peak demand at 1.5% this April, while Uttarakhand had a 5.8% deficit, slightly better than last year.
Northern India overall had virtually no shortages over the previous two years, and long-term numbers show Uttar Pradesh's peak demand shot up by over 75% since 2018.
The crunch isn't just local: nationwide power demand hit an all-time high of 290 GW this season, with shortages also reported in places like Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands too.