New Delhi: Several coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 10 gigawatt (GW) have deferred their scheduled maintenance by three months to meet the country’s power demand, while up to 27 GW of additional load is expected at the distribution level due to the shift towards induction-based cooking amid a shortage in LPG supplies due to the military conflict in West Asia, the government said on Friday.Piyush Singh, Additional Secretary, Power Ministry, told reporters that of the 15 GW capacity originally planned for maintenance, 10 GW will remain operational to compensate for about 8 GW of gas-based plants lying idle due to supply shortage and to meet the surge in summer demand. Power plants take planned shutdowns for maintenance and repair of wear and tear in machinery. Earlier, state-owned oil companies had also postponed the annual shutdown of their refineries due to the current geopolitical situation and its impact on energy supply.He said the power ministry is also accelerating the addition of 22 GW of power generation capacity – a mix of thermal, solar, wind, hydro, and battery and pumped hydro storage – in the next three months.Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Director General Krishna Chandra Panigrahi said people are moving towards induction-based cooking due to shortage of LPG cylinders, which is likely to create an “additional layer of demand” during morning and evening peak hours. However, he said it is difficult to estimate the exact demand given the variations in usage patterns in different regions due to differences in climate, socio-economic conditions and cooking habits.“…the additional demand due to induction cooking is broadly estimated to be in the range of 13 GW to 27 GW under the low and high adoption scenarios, respectively,” Panigrahi said. A significant impact on demand is yet to be seen, he said.With India’s peak power demand likely to reach 271 GW this summer, Singh said despite global uncertainties, the system is “robust, well-diversified and adequately positioned” to meet both short-term and long-term demand needs. “India’s current installed capacity of over 531 GW reflects a well-diversified portfolio, with significant contributions from coal, renewable energy, hydro and nuclear sources, with non-fossil sources accounting for over 50%,” he said.Singh said maintaining adequate coal stocks at thermal power plants and full operation of imported coal-based plants are among the short-term measures taken by the government to meet the peak demand.