Gas-based plants hiked purchases on IGX by 340% y-o-y in April and May

NEW DELHI: To cater to a surge in power demand due to the scorching heat this summer, gas-based power plants increased their purchases of natural gas on Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) by more than 300% during April and May this year compared with the same period in 2025.Power demand remained high during the second half of both April and May due to higher cooling requirements. Peak power demand touched an all-time high of 256.1 GW on April 25. New records were then set on four consecutive days in May, with demand reaching a fresh peak of 270.8 GW on May 21.Gas-based power plants purchased 4.5 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) of natural gas through IGX during these two months. This was about 340% higher than the little over 1 TBtu purchased during the same period in 2025, when power demand remained subdued due to moderate weather conditions. IGX had sold 2.1 TBtu of natural gas to power generation plants in April-May 2024.Along with coal-fired thermal power plants, which provided baseload power, solar energy played a major role in meeting the high daytime demand. Of the country's total installed power generation capacity of 538 GW, gas-based plants account for only about 20 GW. They, however, make a significant contribution by providing flexible power supply and helping maintain grid stability during periods of high demand in evening and night hours when solar generation is unavailable.The higher purchases came despite elevated global energy prices amid a supply squeeze caused by West Asia conflict. The average gas price at IGX in April-May this year stood at Rs 1,770 per million Btu, nearly 64% higher than Rs 1,077 per MMBtu during the same period in 2025.Rajesh Kumar Mediratta, managing director and CEO of IGX, said power generation companies preferred short-tenure gas procurement, primarily through intraday or day-ahead contracts, or contracts with delivery completed within the same month."With the support of pipeline operators, we ensured the delivery of gas and settlement of payments," he said.