India could see spikes in power prices in the coming weeks as supply will be constrained and procurement costs will rise with the shutdown of a unit at the country’s largest nuclear power plant for maintenance.
India has now shut the 1-GW Unit 1 at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Reuters quoted a notice by the Central Electricity Authority.
The maintenance is expected to last just over two months, potentially tightening the supply of electricity in southern India and leading to higher supply costs.
The Tamil Nadu Distribution and Generation Company may need to use additional supply on the power market if demand outstrips supply, a senior official at the state company told Reuters.
The neighboring state of Kerala, west of Tamil Nadu, has said that its own peak-hour deficit of around 600 MW in August 2025 may worsen due to the scheduled refuelling outage of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu.
“The refuelling of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant may also results in increase of electricity demand from neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, who may enter the market, leading to further price spikes and constrained availability,” the Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL) said in a petition in July with the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC).
KSEBL was seeking approval to enter into short-term power procurement deals for the peak hours of August 2025 “for meeting energy shortage.”
The Kerala company was seeking permission to enter short-term procurement deals with TATA Power Trading Company Limited and Greenko Energies Private Limited for the peak power procurement this month.
The Kerala Electricity Regulatory Commission allowed the short-term emergency power deals, but warned that tariffs could spike.
Currently, India relies on coal to meet more than half of its power demand, but it plans to boost its nuclear power-generating capacity from 9 GW now to as much as 100 GW by 2047.
Source: Oilprice.com
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