Govt discusses energy security and power reforms in ministerial meet

New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) As the Bharat Electricity Summit 2026 entered its 2nd day on Friday, a national power ministerial meeting, chaired by Union Power Minister Manohar Lal, was held to deliberate on energy security, sector reforms and future growth strategies.

Addressing the conference, the minister said the summit would play a key role in achieving the vision of “Viksit Bharat 2047”, highlighting the importance of the power sector in driving economic growth and infrastructure development.

He also noted that India has crossed 520 GW of installed power capacity, alongside improvements in distribution company (Discom) performance, smart meter deployment and reduced power shortages.

He called for closer coordination between the Centre and states to ensure affordable and efficient power generation, transmission and distribution.

Stressing energy security amid global uncertainties, the minister underscored the need to boost per capita consumption and accelerate the shift towards renewable energy, while also highlighting the role of nuclear power as a clean energy source.

The meeting was co-chaired by Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy Shripad Naik and attended by senior officials, including Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal, MNRE Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi, and Energy Ministers from various states and Union Territories.

Naik said the role of technology and artificial intelligence in transforming the sector, citing smart metering as a key reform. He noted that nearly half of India’s installed capacity now comes from non-fossil fuel sources and pointed to the draft National Electricity Policy as a roadmap for long-term growth.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Power released two key reports for FY25 — the Consumer Service Ratings of Discoms (CSRD) and the Distribution Utilities Ranking (DUR).

The CSRD report evaluates utilities on consumer service parameters such as billing, grievance redressal and transparency, with 6 Discoms rated A+, 21 rated A and 27 rated B+, according to the government.

The DUR report provides a comprehensive assessment of distribution utilities based on financial, operational and service performance, with 66 utilities participating in the latest exercise.

–IANS

ag/vd