India has significantly reduced its power shortage from approximately 4.5 percent in 2014 to less than 1 percent, Union minister for power and new & renewable energy R. K. Singh said. Addressing the gathering at an industry event on January 18, 2024, in New Delhi, the minister stated that India is on track to achieve 65 percent of its power capacity from non-fossil-fuel sources by 2030, surpassing its initial target of 40 percent.
“Connecting 29 million homes in 19 months, India has seen the largest and fastest expansion of energy access in the power sector’s history,” said Singh, emphasizing the nation’s strides towards universal electricity access.
The minister detailed India’s capacity additions in the power sector, noting the addition of about 194 GW, including 107 GW from renewables. He also mentioned the construction of 193,000 circuit km of transmission lines, which has integrated the country into the world’s largest grid on a single frequency, boosting power transfer capacity from 36 GW to 117 GW.
Significant improvements were also noted in rural and urban power availability, with rural areas now receiving around 21 hours of electricity daily and urban areas 23.8 hours. Singh stressed that uninterrupted power supply is now a right, and discoms are subject to penalties for gratuitous loadshedding.
Singh highlighted India’s rapid advancement in renewable energy. “With 187 GW of renewable capacity, we have surpassed our commitment of having 40 percent capacity from non-fossil-fuel sources by 2030. Our target now is 65 percent by 2030,” he stated.
Discussing the power sector’s financial aspects, the minister informed that the total investment in the past nine years is about 17 lakh crores, with an additional 17.5 lakh crores in capacity under construction. He also addressed the country’s growing power demand, which has surged from a peak of 130 GW in 2014 to 243 GW, and is projected to exceed 400 GW by 2030.
“We are planning to cross 500 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, with 7 million tonnes of green hydrogen manufacturing lined up,” Singh said, indicating the scale of India’s ambition in renewable energy. He also mentioned India’s focus on energy storage and the push for domestic manufacturing in wind power equipment and HVDC Transmission lines.
The minister concluded by reiterating India’s commitment to reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency, underlining the nation’s leading role in the global energy transition.
