India's installed power generation capacity has crossed 530 GW and is expected to reach nearly 600 GW next year, driven by rapid additions in renewable energy, thermal power and battery storage, according to The Times of India. Aadhar Raj, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Power, announced this milestone on Tuesday, highlighting the country's electricity sector expansion at one of the fastest rates globally with annual growth of more than 7-8 per cent and renewable energy additions of around 30-40 GW every year. As per ANI, Raj emphasized that the surge reflects India's strong push towards energy security and capacity expansion across multiple segments, including solar, wind, thermal and battery storage systems.
The government is simultaneously scaling up thermal, nuclear and energy-storage infrastructure to ensure long-term energy security and meet rising electricity demand, as reported by The Times of India. India plans to add around 97 GW of thermal power capacity over the next five years, including 7-8 GW during the current financial year, while pursuing a separate roadmap to build nearly 100 GW of nuclear power capacity over the next five to ten years. Raj emphasized that the major chunk of the capacity expansion will come from battery storage, with energy storage being a key priority as over 44 GW of battery storage projects are under viability gap funding and several NTPC projects are in the pipeline. He added that smart meter rollout is being scaled up nationwide to improve grid efficiency, enable rooftop solar integration and support time-of-day tariffs.
India recently met a record peak power demand of around 270 GW despite geopolitical uncertainties and volatility in global energy markets, according to The Times of India. The power system successfully met demand across the country, demonstrating the robustness of India's electricity infrastructure. This achievement underscores the country's ability to handle peak load requirements while maintaining grid stability, with Raj calling it a sign of strong system resilience despite global energy volatility and geopolitical tensions.
The government is preparing to roll out a ₹20,000 crore support package for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technologies, as reported by The Times of India. Raj announced that the Ministry of Power will present a detailed utilisation plan to the Finance Minister outlining spending priorities over the next five years. The funding will be used to develop a comprehensive CCUS ecosystem, covering research and development, carbon capture technologies, storage infrastructure and carbon utilisation projects, with the broader objective of building a circular carbon economy. This would focus on converting captured carbon into usable products using emerging technologies.
The power distribution sector is showing significant improvement with DISCOMs reporting a positive financial outcome after years of losses, according to The Times of India. Raj noted that for the first time, DISCOMs had a positive financial outturn, with hopes that they will become financially viable and profitable in the future. This development represents a major turnaround for the power distribution sector, which has historically faced financial challenges, with the improvement aided by reforms and private participation.
