AI data centres to add 26.3 GW load by 2031-32, says power ministry; grid stability a concern

4 min readJul 27, 2026 09:09 PM IST Data centre electricity demand is forecast to grow 20-fold by 2040 from 10 TWh in 2025 and would account for 7% of the total electricity demand, it added.Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centres will put an additional load of 26.3 gigawatts (GW) by 2031-32, the Ministry of Power informed the parliament on Monday. This additional load is expected to be integrated into the grid and will primarily be served by renewable energy capacity, the ministry added. The fresh projection is almost double the government’s earlier projection in March this year when it estimated that electricity demand from data centres will reach 13.56 GW by 2031-32. The present estimate is based on projects received by different states to set up data centres as the ministry is also ho