Bhubaneswar, May 22 -- India is witnessing an unprecedented rise in electricity consumption as intense heatwave conditions continue to grip several parts of the country. Data released by the Union Power Ministry on Friday shows that power demand has broken previous records continuously due to soaring temperatures and increased use of cooling appliances.

According to the Ministry's statistics, electricity consumption reached 257.37 gigawatts (GW) on May 18. The demand increased further to 260.45 GW on May 19, followed by 265.44 GW on May 20. On May 21, the country recorded the highest power usage at 270.82 GW, marking a fresh all-time high in electricity consumption.

Official sources said that the steep rise in demand is mainly being dri...