The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has issued an advisory to all renewable energy implementing agencies (such as Solar Energy Corporation of India and NTPC) and State utilities to “incorporate a minimum of two-hour co-located energy storage systems” in future solar tenders. This, it notes, will help “mitigate intermittency issues and provide critical support during peak demand period”. 

The authority also wants a “suitable compliance mechanism” to be incorporated in bid documents.

This is necessary to build energy storage concurrently with the increasing renewable energy installed capacity. As per CEA’s projections, to integrate 364 GW of solar and 121 GW of wind capacities by 2030-31, India would need 74 GW/411 GWhr of storage capacity, from both battery and pumped hydro storage systems. 

Against this, as at December-end 2024, India had 4.86 GW of storage capacity, of which only 0.11 GW was battery-based (rest pumped hydro). 

“Distribution licensees may also consider managing a two-hour storage with rooftop solar plants as well,” the CEA advisory says.

Sharp drop in power line loss

According to the Ministry of Power, the ‘aggregate technical and commercial’ (AT&C) losses suffered when transmitting electricity over the grid have come down, rather sharply, from 21.9 per cent in 2020-21 to 15.4 per cent in 2022-23. 

Responding to a question on power line losses, the Ministry told Parliament recently that the ₹3.03 lakh crore Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) was aimed at cutting AT&C losses to 12-15 per cent. Projects worth ₹2.78 lakh crore have been sanctioned under the scheme. 

Loss reduction infrastructure projects, at a cost of ₹1.48 lakh crore, have been sanctioned, which includes works for replacement of bare conductors with covered conductors, laying low-tension aerial bunched (LTAB) cables, and upgradation of distribution transformers and substations. Further, 19.79 crore prepaid smart consumer meters, 2.11 lakh communicable feeder meters, and 52.53 lakh distribution transformer communicable meters have been sanctioned, the Ministry said.

NLC bags wind power deal

NLC India Ltd has won a contract from public sector peer SJVN for supplying power from a 200 MW wind farm that it will build. 

NLCIL won the contract in an auction, quoting a price of ₹3.74 per kWhr. 

NLCIL, a lignite mining-cum-power generation company, aims to own 10 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Today, the company has 1,380 MW of solar and 101 MW of wind capacity.

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Published on March 2, 2025