India’s power sector is racing ahead to meet the country’s immense and rapidly growing electricity demand, Power Minister Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of Power and Minister of New and Renewable Energy, declared at the recent ET Global Business Summit 2024.
Highlighting India’s remarkable growth trajectory, Singh pointed out that “no other economy is expanding as quickly as ours,” with power demand increasing by 9% annually. In the past decade alone, capacity additions have topped 190,000 megawatts (MW).
This growth is set to continue; Singh targeted adding another 136,000MW along with boosting demand by over 20,000MW. Achieving these goals will be crucial for supporting India’s broader economic growth and development objectives. As Singh stressed, “We are evolving, we are changing.”
A key priority is transitioning towards renewable energy. India has set an ambitious target for renewables to make up 40% of capacity by 2030 – a figure Singh noted has already been surpassed, hitting 44% in 2024. He did acknowledge “hiccups along the way” but emphasized India’s commitment to round-the-clock renewable power.
Beyond adding raw capacity, next-generation reforms also aim to build a transparent, efficient power sector. Competitive auctions allocate new projects, while public-private partnerships leverage private financing and expertise. According to Singh, “our companies are growing” through these policies.
At the distribution end, rapidly growing electricity demand from households is supporting India’s broader consumption-led growth. Singh dubbed appliances and gadgets “FMEG” – fast-moving electricity goods – thanks to soaring purchases by an increasingly affluent population. Kitchens in particular are being transformed by access to electricity.
Globally, India is set to become the world’s 3rd largest energy consumer by 2030. While fossil fuels still dominate, the falling cost of renewables coupled with energy security and environmental pressures are accelerating the transition towards green power.
Indian renewable energy sector is the fourth most attractive renewable energy market in the world. The Government of India is committed to increasing it even more. Developing affordable, decentralised green power sources and grids can help bridge this gap. A pursuit that Singh has promised to
At the distributed level, technologies like rooftop solar panels and mini-grids are expanding rapidly. battery storage solutions will also be critical to overcoming the intermittency issues that often plague renewable power. The government has declared a plan to add 50 GW of renewable energy capacity annually for the next 5 years to achieve the target of 500 GW by 2030.
Ambitious infrastructure programs like the One Sun One World One Grid initiative could unlock India’s renewable potential by linking domestic capacity to regional export markets via transnational transmission lines. Singh stated India is “racing to add capacity” not just for domestic consumption but also for strategic energy exports.
Singh stated how in his guidance he has pushed for “all bids have to be transparent.” When asked about his ideas about next-gen reforms in the power sector, he says his first goal is to “put in place a system which is transparent” and adds that his next target is to “make supply match the demand.” He states how partnerships with PSUs have to be transparent in a system.
In closing, Power Minister Singh remains bullish that proactive policies, sustained investments and innovative technologies can help India’s power sector keep pace with national development goals. Meeting surging demand through clean, reliable and affordable electricity access will be critical for improving socio-economic outcomes for millions of Indian households.
