Report identifies top performing states in India’s electricity transition

While the central government of India has already made strides towards greening electricity, states must boost efforts to spur transition since they have considerable control over regulations and policies.

To encourage state-level transformation, a report has been released by Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Ember, analysing 21 states in India to understand the current status of states’ electricity transition progress.

It’s the second iteration of the report, which was first released in 2023 and analysed 16 states.

According to Ember, the exercise helped them identify top-performing states and those exhibiting signs of structural weakness when it comes to electricity transition.

Have you read?
Indian power sector reforms increasing power supply and reducing losses
India’s Adani and UAE’s Eysasoft partner on smart metering joint venture

The latest report found that Gujarat and Karnataka are two top-performing states in terms of effective integration of renewable energy, ensuring adequate preparedness to further transition and having robust market enablers to facilitate the future growth of clean electricity.

The report shows that states like Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have lagged behind the others in most parameters, suggesting structural weaknesses.

A statement issued by Ember on the report stated: “This year we noticed that these states were grappling with challenges to decarbonise their electricity systems, which were inadequately ready to embrace the electricity transition. These states also need to improve their policies and market-enabling mechanisms that can help pave the way for a clean future of their electricity sector.”

The report noted that several states, such as Delhi and Odisha, show preparedness to embrace electricity transition, but continue to struggle with actual decarbonisation of their power systems.

Ember also highlights the uneven progress between states towards the electricity transition. While some lack the right market enablers, others struggle with the readiness of their power ecosystems.

Kerala, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra, for example, all exhibited progress in certain aspects but also weaknesses in other aspects. For example, Ember, Kerala and Punjab exhibit sub-par performance in terms of market enablers for decarbonisation, while Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra struggle with the readiness of their power ecosystems. Despite achieving relative success in decarbonising the sector thus far, states must address deficiencies in readiness and market enablers to sustain their momentum.

Recommendations

While India has formulated many central and state-level policy schemes to reinforce energy transformation and independence, actual implementation has not been adequate and transparent.

Strengthening the regulatory framework is therefore critical to ensure compliance and promote growth.

Further, the report recommends state-level studies, as opposed to national studies, to understand the nuances of electricity transition in India. These learnings can in turn be used to develop state-level transition plans that account for local dynamics, barriers and facilitators.

Originally published on powerengineeringint.com