Roadmap to energy security in India

BANGALORE, INDIA: Digital technology can serve as a catalyst to transform the power sector in India, said a report, ‘Technology: Enabling the Transformation of Power Distribution in India’, which was released in Bangalore today.

The report, commissioned by the Ministry of Power, the Government of India, and prepared by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) and Infosys, proposes a road map to ensure the energy security of India.

Minister of State for Commerce and Power, Jairam Ramesh released a report at the Infosys Technologies Ltd in the presence of Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

The report, overseen by Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani, discusses the challenges of the power sector, the confluence of technology, policy and regulation; the interface between various stakeholders, the role of IT as a catalyst and consumers as change agents.

According to the report, India’s power sector, in particular the distribution sector, must undergo a fundamental transformation to serve India’s economic growth and societal needs.

Power generation will need to grow 4-5 times from the current capacity to keep up with the desired economic growth. Further, the climate crisis introduces new complexities and highlights the need to integrate a large number of distributed and intermittent low-carbon power generators that can harness solar and wind energy.

The report explores the impact of this magnitude and complexity of power requirement on the future design, operation and management of power distribution. The report provides a technology trajectory for distribution.