Tamil Nadu seeks extra power as nighttime electricity supply tightens

New Delhi, October 6, 2026: Tamil Nadu is among several states that have sought additional electricity allocations from the Union government as nighttime supply has tightened, according to a Reuters report published at 7:47 a.m. IST on October 6. The requests are intended to reduce the risk of evening and overnight outages; the report does not announce a Tamil Nadu-wide shutdown schedule.

Reuters, citing two federal government officials, reported that Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, along with Delhi, have sought extra supplies. Weaker hydropower generation, maintenance at some coal-fired plants, weaker wind output and high industrial demand are constraining supply after sunset.

September shortfall and generation pressure

India’s electricity shortfall reached 560 million kilowatt-hours in September, the highest since August 2023, the report said, based on government data. Coal-fired generation rose 13.3% from a year earlier while hydropower generation fell 20%. Grid-India data cited in the report showed that about 41 gigawatts of generating capacity was offline. About 47% of coal plants had fuel stocks below one-quarter of the mandated level.

Insufficient battery capacity remains a structural challenge because surplus solar power produced in daytime cannot yet be shifted at scale to evening and night hours. The Union Power Ministry has been urging renewable-energy producers to accelerate battery-storage integration, Reuters reported. The ministry did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

What this means for Tamil Nadu

The report establishes that Tamil Nadu has requested extra allocation; it does not say that all consumers will face scheduled power cuts. Residents should rely on notices from the distribution utility for any local maintenance shutdown. The Power Ministry’s official Operations and Monitoring page says the Union government can allocate unallocated power from central generating stations to meet urgent or contingent requirements of states and Union territories.