India asks utilities to order $33b in equipment this year

India is ramping up its coal-fired power capacity to meet rising electricity needs. The government asked power companies to invest $33 billion in equipment this year to add 31 gigawatts GW of capacity in the next 5-6 years.

This is a significant shift from the past, where the government left equipment procurement decisions to individual companies. Historically, annual equipment orders fell within the range of 2-3 GW, except for last year’s 10 GW procurement.

India urgently needs to address its growing energy demands as the post-pandemic economic recovery and more frequent heatwaves. In June, the country faced its worst power shortfall in 14 years.