Nuvama Research Recommends Six Stocks in Indian Power Sector
India’s power demand rose 12.95% year-on-year in August 2026, while peak demand touched about 258 gigawatts, giving power producers and renewable energy companies a strong operating backdrop. Nuvama Research, in its Power Pulse report, has named ACME Solar, NTPC and Power Grid Corporation of India as its top picks, while also recommending ‘Buy’ on CESC, Tata Power and Inox Wind. Nuvama said thermal plant load factor increased to 66.8% in August 2026 from 61.7% a year earlier. Renewable energy additions also remained strong, with 16.4 gigawatts added in the year-to-date FY27. The brokerage’s analysis found that around 1,42,000 megawatts of tendered renewable capacity was yet to be converted into power purchase agreements. Among the six stocks carrying a ‘Buy’ rating in Nuvama’s utilities valuation table, Inox Wind has the highest target-price upside at 58.9%, followed by CESC at 33.6% and NTPC at 33%. Nuvama Research has given ACME Solar a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of Rs 448, implying an upside of 11.5%. The company is also one of the three stocks that the brokerage has specifically named as its top picks in the power sector. The brokerage’s positive view comes as renewable energy tendering remains strong across the country. Nuvama’s analysis found that about 86 gigawatts of renewable capacity already has power purchase agreements, while a much larger pool of tendered capacity is still awaiting conversion. “Given 86GW of existing PPAs, we believe annual RE additions of ~45–50GW over the next two years are achievable,” Nuvama said. Nuvama said the annual pace of renewable energy additions could reach around 45 to 50 gigawatts over the next two years when rooftop solar is included. The brokerage based this assessment on the existing power purchase agreement pipeline and the time required for renewable projects to reach commissioning. Nuvama Research has assigned a ‘Buy’ rating to NTPC Ltd. with a target price of Rs 445, implying an upside of 33%. NTPC is among the three stocks that the brokerage has named as its top picks in the power sector. The company recorded a higher thermal plant load factor during August 2026. Nuvama’s company-level data showed NTPC’s plant load factor at 73.7% in August, compared with 69% in the same month a year earlier. “NTPC reported a higher PLF of 73.7% in Aug-26 (69.0% in Aug’25),” Nuvama said. The brokerage also said India’s thermal generation mix stood at around 66% in August, while overall power demand remained elevated. August demand reached about 169 billion units, supported partly by higher temperatures as the monsoon was softer than expected. Nuvama Research has assigned a ‘Buy’ rating to Power Grid Corporation of India and set a target price of Rs 283, implying an upside of 13%. PGCIL is also among the three stocks that Nuvama has specifically identified as its top picks in the report. The brokerage’s assessment comes as India continues to add renewable generation capacity, creating requirements across the wider power system. Nuvama said installed power capacity reached about 552 gigawatts at the end of August 2026, helped by strong renewable energy additions during the current financial year. “Given 86GW of existing PPAs, we believe annual RE additions of ~45–50GW over the next two years are achievable,” Nuvama said. Nuvama’s tendering analysis showed that around 1,42,000 megawatts of tendered renewable capacity was yet to be converted into power purchase agreements. The brokerage expects this pipeline to support substantial renewable capacity additions over the coming two years. Nuvama Research has a ‘Buy’ rating on CESC Ltd. with a target price of Rs 200, implying an upside of 33.6%. CESC is among the rated power companies covered in the brokerage’s utilities valuation table. The stock features in a power sector report that sees electricity demand maintaining a strong pace. Nuvama said August demand increased 12.95% year-on-year to around 169 billion units, with higher average temperatures contributing to consumption during the month. “Power demand high at 12.95% YoY in Aug-26 at 169BU amid higher temperatures,” Nuvama said. The southern region recorded the strongest growth among the major regions during August, with power demand increasing 20.1% year-on-year. Nuvama’s data showed demand also increased across the northern, western and eastern regions during the month. Nuvama Research has retained a ‘Buy’ rating on Tata Power Company Ltd. and assigned a target price of Rs 421, implying an upside of 11.7%. The company was among the power producers that recorded an increase in thermal plant load factor during August, according to the brokerage’s data. Tata Power’s thermal plant load factor stood at 75.8% in August 2026, compared with 69.9% in August 2025, according to Nuvama’s company comparison. “NTPC/Tata Power/JSW Energy all report rise in PLF during the month,” Nuvama noted. Nuvama’s sector assessment showed thermal generation continuing to account for the largest portion of India’s power generation. At the same time, renewable energy accounted for about 20% of the generation mix in August, according to the report. Nuvama Research has given Inox Wind Ltd. a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of Rs 123, implying an upside of 58.9%. This is the highest target-price upside among the six stocks carrying a ‘Buy’ rating in Nuvama’s utilities valuation table. The renewable energy pipeline is central to Nuvama’s power sector assessment. The brokerage said renewable energy tendering remains strong, with a large amount of capacity yet to move from the tendering stage into power purchase agreements. “Renewable tendering remains strong, with 142GW of capacity yet to be converted into PPAs,” Nuvama said. Nuvama’s analysis of tendering data showed that 56% of the capacity tendered from FY23 to date had been won and converted into letters of award. About 86 gigawatts of capacity currently has power purchase agreements, according to the brokerage. The brokerage said the existing power purchase agreement base could support around 43 gigawatts of annual renewable energy additions over the next two years, with the figure potentially moving towards 45 to 50 gigawatts when rooftop solar is included. Nuvama’s September power sector report identifies ACME Solar, NTPC and Power Grid Corporation of India as its top picks, while its wider utilities coverage also carries ‘Buy’ ratings on CESC, Tata Power and Inox Wind. Inox Wind has the highest target-price upside among these six stocks at 58.9%, followed by CESC at 33.6% and NTPC at 33%. Power Grid Corporation of India has an implied upside of 13%, while Tata Power and ACME Solar have potential upside of 11.7% and 11.5%, respectively over the next 12 months. The report also includes Indian Energy Exchange, SJVN, NTPC Green Energy, Adani Green Energy, JSW Energy and Torrent Power in its utilities valuation snapshot. However, Indian Energy Exchange carries a ‘Reduce’ rating, SJVN has a ‘Hold’ rating, while NTPC Green Energy, Adani Green Energy, JSW Energy and Torrent Power are marked ‘NA’ for recommendation and target price. Nuvama’s stock-specific ‘Buy’ list therefore centres on six companies, with renewable capacity additions, rising electricity demand and stronger utilisation of thermal assets forming key parts of the brokerage’s sector assessment. Nuvama’s power sector call is not resting on a single company or one pocket of the industry. Its six ‘Buy’ rated stocks span renewable energy, generation and transmission. With power demand rising sharply and renewable capacity additions gathering pace, Nuvama’s latest stock-specific calls give the sector a mix of established names and higher-upside opportunities to watch.
