From August 2025 to July 2026, fossil fuels supplied about 71% of India’s electricity consumption, with coal alone accounting for roughly 68% and gas about 2%. Low-carbon sources provided the remaining 29%—almost a third. Solar led the clean electricity mix at 10% of total consumption, followed by hydropower at about 8%, wind at 6%, nuclear at nearly 3%, and biofuels at about 2%. India therefore still relies heavily on fossil electricity, making faster growth in clean generation important for reducing climate-changing emissions and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in India?

Electricity consumption is growing in India: the latest 2026 figure reached 1,406 kWh per person, surpassing the previous record of 1,353 kWh in 2025 by 53 kWh, or about 4%. Low-carbon electricity generation also set a record, rising to 405 kWh per person from 378 kWh in 2025—an increase of 27 kWh, or roughly 7%. These are encouraging gains, with clean generation per person growing faster than overall consumption per person. Sustaining and accelerating that progress will help meet rising electricity needs from electrification, industry, and AI.

Suggestions

India can increase low-carbon electricity generation by expanding solar and nuclear power alongside wind, supported by stronger grids and electricity storage. Neighboring Pakistan offers a particularly relevant comparison: solar supplies about 24% of its electricity and nuclear another 13%, compared with India’s 10% and nearly 3%. Sunny regions such as Australia and the US state of Nevada also demonstrate solar’s potential, generating about 21% and 35% of their electricity from it, respectively. For nuclear expansion, India can learn from South Korea, where nuclear supplies a quarter of electricity, and France, where it supplies about two-thirds, particularly through sustained construction programmes and standardised designs. Wind can contribute substantially too: the US state of Texas generates about 22% of its electricity from wind, offering useful lessons for large-scale deployment across a geographically extensive electricity system.

History

India’s low-carbon electricity history shows increasingly strong growth, especially in solar. Hydropower recorded annual gains of about 17 TWh in both 2005 and 2011, followed by a 16 TWh decline in 2012 and a 22 TWh rebound in 2013. During the later 2010s, growth broadened: biofuels and wind added about 17 and 13 TWh respectively in 2016, solar added 14 TWh in 2018, and hydropower gained 16 TWh in 2019 while biofuels fell by 14 TWh. Solar then became a consistent driver, adding 13 TWh in 2020 and 26 TWh in 2022; hydropower and biofuels each added roughly 14–15 TWh in 2022. A substantial 26 TWh hydropower decline in 2023 underscored the importance of expanding a diverse clean electricity mix, while solar continued growing by 19 TWh that year and 22 TWh in 2024. Growth strengthened in 2025, with solar adding 32 TWh, wind 26 TWh, and hydropower 22 TWh, followed by an even larger solar increase of about 37 TWh in 2026.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.