Although the Indian power sector is facing several challenges, including – financial stress on DISCOMs; insufficient infrastructure for transmission and distribution; challenges in renewable energy integration and so on – and these issues are hindering the sector’s fast growth, our prudent government has adopted several remedial measures to facilitate the sector’s progress.
In order to improve the financial health and efficiency of the DISCOMs, the government had introduced Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in 2021, which aimed to reduce Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses to 12-15% by 2025. It successfully reduced AT&C losses at the national level from 22.32% in FY21 to 15.37% in FY23.
Also, the government’s National Transmission Plan has significantly boosted the country’s transmission capacity – facilitating the integration of renewable energy and improving power supply. One of its key achievements is a substantial increase in transmission line length and transformation capacity, which has enhanced inter-regional power transfer and ensured a reduction in power shortages. It has been constructing Green Energy Corridors and establishing Renewable Energy Management Centres to facilitate the evacuation and efficient management of the renewable power.
Investment in storage solutions like BESSs and PSPs is being prioritised to address the intermittency of renewables and ensure grid stability. Our energy storage sector is expected to expand five-fold between 2026 and 2032, attracting Rs 4.79 lakh crore investment by 2032. According to the latest information from CEA, around 12,500 MW of BESS projects are under tendering process now and more than 3,000 MW is in the pipeline.
There are many other steps (not included here) to benefit our power sector in future. So, I feel we are quite on the right track to ensure our (electrical) energy security.
Publisher & Editor-In-Chief
