3rd World Utility Summit unfolds at Elecrama 2020: Over 400 Delegates from 50 countries Join the Deliberations.
20th January 2019 |Greater Noida Energy leaders from all over the world joined the ongoing mega power sector congregation Elecrama 2020 – the biennial electricals and electronics showcase of Indian Electrical & Electronic Manufactures Association (IEEMA) – for the much awaited 3rd World Utility Summit (WUS) at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, today.
The inaugural ceremony of the summit was graced by Mr. Anand Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of New and Non-Renewable Energy, Government of India; Mr. Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India; Dr. Jörg Polster, Head of the Economics Department, German Embassy; Shri Prakash S Mhaske, Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority; Mr. Michael Satin, USAID, Director of Clean Energy and Environment Office, USAID; Mr. R.K Chugh, President, IEEMA; Mr. Anil Saboo, Chairman, ELECRAMA 2020; Mr. Vikram Gandotra, Chairman WUS 2020; amongst others.
Welcoming everyone to the critical utility summit, Mr. Vikram Gandotra, Chairman, WUS, said “WUS was conceptualized in 2016 to enhance dialogue between Utilities and other stakeholders. In the first edition it was attended by 150 delegates; today for the third edition, over 400 delegates have registered to join us. We have representations from over 50 countries this year, and over the two days we will deliberate upon 6 critical themes covering over 20 utilities.”
Stressing upon the forum gaining importance year on year, Mr. R.K Chugh, President, IEEMA, said “As you know Elecrama is a flagship event of IEEMA, and World Utility Summit has emerged as a flagship forum of Elecrama. Today utilities really have to step up to the next level, and so there couldn’t have been a better theme than ‘Utility Next’”.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India, said, “Power sector is undergoing a tectonic shift with several challenges at hand. As per one estimation 30% of global energy demand growth would come from India by 2040. I am happy to share that in terms of installed capacity we are self-sufficient now with 367 GW installed capacity. Although we are at one-third of global per capita power consumption, we are set to meet it as we go onto achieve our vision of 450 GW installed capacity by 2030.”
Discussing about the future of renewable energies and related challenges, Mr. Anand Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of New and Non-Renewable Energy, Government of India, said “It is India’s commitment to reduce carbon footprint and therefore renewable sources have a growing role in the future. We have the targets for 175 GW by 2022 which we are set to achieve. By 2030, we aim to achieve 450 GW. Towards that subsidies need to be paid for. At present, the renewable sector has 17,000 Cr. loan pending to be paid. Also, as our coal based electricity production transitions to renewable energy, storage and transmissions systems would need to change”
The Summit saw the release of six knowledge papers critical for the Utility and related segments including themes of market enablers (changing consumer demands and evolving business models), revenue security (concerning consumers becoming producers), grid transformation (with respect to renewables and electric vehicles), enabling technologies (including digitalization and cybersecurity), policy and standards, and energy storage (concerning with balancing demand and supply, managing renewables and providing autonomy for consumers).
The Summit also featured CEO Round Table with Power Utility Leaders’ Dialogue deliberating upon these challenges, industry trends and way forward. While the Germany was the country partner, the Summit was supported by leading government and international bodies including, National Smart Grid Mission (Ministry of Power, GoI), USAIDS, KPMG, CRISIL, GIZ, and Indian Energy Storage Alliance.
