Business News | Power Ministry Concludes Two-day 'Chintan Shivir'
Get latest articles and stories on Business at LatestLY. The Ministry of Power concluded a two-day 'Chintan Shivir' held on 22-23 January 2026 in Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh. The event seeks to "foster competition, ensure grid resilience to integrate increased shares of variable Renewable Energy, and provide consumer-centric services."
New Delhi [India], January 23 (ANI): The Ministry of Power concluded a two-day 'Chintan Shivir' held on 22-23 January 2026 in Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh. The Shivir was organised to deliberate, reflect, and collectively chart the future course of India's Power Sector.
According to the release of Ministry of Power, Union Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs Manohar Lal, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy Shripad Naik, Secretary (Power), Senior officers from Ministry of Power, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), CPSEs, States officials, State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) and Industry Leaders/Experts including academicians etc. participated in the event
While inaugurating the event on Thursday (22nd January), Manohar Lal highlighted the achievements of India's power sector, He reiterated the need of confronting the persistent issues and challenges being faced by power sector and chalk-out the ways to overcome the same, as India's long-term economic vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 requires a robust and sustainable electricity sector capable of providing reliable, affordable and clean power.
The deliberations and discussions during the two days were mainly focused on draft Electricity Amendment Bill, 2026 to ensure financial viability, economic competitiveness, and energy transition, draft Electricity Policy 2026 to meet the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and energy independence, accelerating development of Nuclear Energy based Power Plants,Reform measures in distribution sector for outcomes which can be sustained in long term.
Furthermore, discussion were also held on optimizing transmission, distributed energy resources and storage to minimise transmission cost, encourage distributed energy resources and achieve 300 GWh storage capacity target by 2030-challenges and way forward and action plan for minimizing litigation and focus on de-regulation.
The participants engaged in open and holistic discussion and deliberations on key reforms which aim to restore the financial health of the sector, promote ease of doing business, reduce avoidable litigation, strengthen regulatory accountability, and place the consumer at the centre of the power ecosystem and shared practical insights from their respective organisations, and focused on solutions that balance reform with realism.
On the first day (22 January) of Chintan Shivir, the participants discussed changes required in the Draft Electricity Amendment Bill, 2026 which seeks to address structural inefficiencies and challenges in achieving financial viability of distribution licensees as well as economic competitiveness of Indian industry and which aims to modernize the legal framework, enable a seamless energy transition, promote ease of doing business, and enhancing regulatory accountability while ensuring that consumer interests remain protected.
Discussions also took place on the draft National Electricity Policy, 2026. The policy targets per capita consumption of 2,000 kWh by 2030 and over 4,000 kWh by 2047; emissions intensity cut by 45% below 2005 levels by 2030, and achieve net-zero by 2070, requiring a shift to low-carbon energy and which seeks to foster competition, ensure grid resilience to integrate increased shares of variable Renewable Energy, and provide consumer-centric services with demand-side interventions, was also discussed very actively on the first day. The participants also had a very focused and meaningful session on how to address challenges for fast-track deployment of nuclear capacity in the country.
On the second day (23 January), participants discussed strategies to secure and sustain the long-term financial viability of DISCOMs through structural reforms that include necessary operational, financial and regulatory measures. Key focus areas also included rationalizing cross-subsidies--particularly for manufacturing, railways, and metro systems--to boost industrial competitiveness and drive employment generation. Participants also had a session focused on challenges and way forward in Optimizing Transmission, Distributed Energy Resources and Storage to minimize transmission cost, encourage distributed energy resources and achieve 300 GWh storage capacity target by 2030.
In the final session, the participants discussed the ways to reduce litigation. It was observed that a significant portion of disputes in the power sector arise due to lack of clarity, inconsistent interpretation, and procedural delays and by identifying systemic bottlenecks--whether in tariff determination, change-in-law claims, grid connectivity, or dispute resolution mechanisms--a move can be made towards standardisation, digitalisation, and faster decision-making. Fewer disputes mean lower costs for utilities and consumers, and a healthier investment climate.
Manohar Lal also released the CEA report titled "Roadmap to 100 GW of Hydro Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) by 2035-36," which outlines India's plan to meet rising energy storage needs driven by an increase in non-fossil fuel capacity to 500 GW by 2030 and 701 GW by 2035. The report projects storage requirements of 62 GW by 2029-30 and 161 GW by 2034-35, with long-duration storage becoming critical beyond 2030, leading to a target of commissioning 100 GW of PSPs by 2035-36. Highlighting PSPs as a proven, clean, large-scale, and long-life storage solution using largely indigenous technologies, the report assesses current development status, identifies state-wise potential, proposes a phased capacity addition plan, and recommends policy, regulatory, and implementation measures--especially promoting off-stream closed-loop projects--to support grid resilience and India's clean energy transition.
The 14th Integrated Rating and Ranking Report of power distribution utilities were also released on Friday (January 23) at the Chintan Shivir. 65 Distribution Utilities have been rated in this year's exercise out of which 31 utilities have been rated as A+ or A. Torrent Power Ahmadabad & Torrent Power Surat have topped the ratings for FY2024-25. Among the State-owned DISCOMs, Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited (UGVCL) has achieved the best rating.
Manohar Lal, urged stakeholders to work in close coordination for the time-bound implementation of the reforms, emphasising that sustained collaboration between the Centre, States, industry, utilities and institutions is vital to establish India as a global leader in Power sector. (ANI)
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