India working on a common power grid across South Asia

India is working to create an interconnected power grid across the South Asian region covering as many countries as feasible, said an Additional Secretary in the Power Ministry, Ajay Tiwari on Friday.

“India today has a very robust power grid from north to south and east to west. In future we would like to see the grid connected to neighbouring countries including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and then expand that connection to Southeast Asian countries, to emerge as a unified market” Tiwari said.

That will mean sharing countries’ resources, investments, keeping the goals of energy security and affordability in mind, he added.

“We are already working on that vision at a government-to-government level, as well as at a technocrat level to strengthen the grid interconnections between India and Nepal as well as India and Bhutan,” he said.

There is a proposal on the same lines from India to Bangladesh, which has received encouraging and positive feedback, Tiwari indicated.

Tiwari also projected that going by the current pace and trajectory, India is likely to meet about 62 per cent of its energy requirements from non-fossil sources by 2030, exceeding the targeted 50 per cent.

As of now, 42 per cent of its energy requirements is from non-fossil fuel sources, he noted.

Tiwari informed that under the ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ initiative, the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has drawn up several plans. The vision is to finally have an interconnected grid with Gulf countries, and via Gulf countries to Africa and up north with Europe.

Plans are also being drawn to connect grids from India to Myanmar, Myanmar to Thailand, Thailand to Singapore, he added.

PTC India CMD Rajib K Mishra said that in the last 10 years, India has had interconnection with Bangladesh, strong connectivity with Nepal and import of power from Bhutan.

“(I believe) what India is doing today (in terms of quantum of energy exchange with neighbouring countries) can be doubled in the next three years,” he added.

Emphasising that for any market to develop, all the countries in the region have to be on the same footing—be it regulatory, market openness, cooperation between governments and cooperation between industry — Mishra called for the creation of a common platform at a time when an attempt is being made to create a power exchange in the region.

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