India's power sector grapples with AI‑driven data‑center demand forecasting

A Capgemini survey of more than 600 senior electricity executives found that around 67 % reported “phantom” load requests from AI‑driven data centres, with 19 % never materialising, making demand prediction increasingly difficult. Nearly 80 % expect more extreme and volatile demand patterns and 77 % say accurate forecasting is now a major challenge, urging utilities to adopt new planning approaches and AI‑enabled insights to avoid over‑ or under‑investment.

At the same time, rising power demand from digital infrastructure is spurring Indian corporates to seek decentralized energy options such as rooftop solar, open‑access procurement, behind‑the‑meter battery storage and microgrids. A panel at Mercom India’s sixth Renewables Summit will discuss how these solutions can improve reliability, lower costs and meet sustainability goals, highlighting the shifting relationship between consumers, utilities and power producers.