New Delhi, April 8 -- Good morning!

India's AI and data centre boom is gathering pace, but can the power grid keep up? As billions flow into digital infrastructure, the Central Electricity Authority is rethinking electricity demand forecasts to avoid future disruptions.

Reason for the urgency: data centres are energy guzzlers, running 24X7. With capacity expected to jump from about 1.2 GW today to nearly 10 GW by 2030, power consumption could soar to 40-45 TWh by then. And since these hubs are concentrated in a handful of states, they could significantly alter local demand patterns, and even risk grid instability if not planned right.

To stay ahead, states and discoms may soon be required to factor in data centre demand in their long-t...