Energy Transition with distribution companies

Project description

Title: Energy Transition with DISCOMs
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: India
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Power, Government of India
Overall term: 2020 to 2023

Context

The Government of India aims to reduce the country’s CO2 emissions in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement. India has committed itself to increasing its electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuels to 40 per cent and to reducing its emission intensity per unit of gross national product by 30-35 per cent by 2030 compared to the base year 2005. Distribution companies, known as DISCOMs in India, are essential for achieving the goals that have been set down and for implementing the energy transition. This is because DISCOMs decide from what sources they obtain their electricity, while at the same time acting as the interface to electricity consumers. It is therefore essential to improve the operational efficiency of DISCOMs so that they can better adapt to the challenges ahead.

Objective

The framework conditions for Indian distribution companies to implement the energy transition  have improved.

Approach

The project is designed to further advance the transformation of India’s energy system by involving public utilities at state level. One central element is improving the technical and organisational skills of selected DISCOMs in data analysis and data processing, and in the operation and maintenance of distribution networks. The aim is to upscale successful measures to national level. The learning experiences gained are to be incorporated into the nationally applicable regulations and will flow into a roadmap for developing national capacity. The objectives of Output 1 include an improvement in the conditions for the further development of the regulatory framework concerning the aforementioned areas: data analysis, data processing, the operation and maintenance of distribution networks, thus integrating higher shares of renewable energy (RE). In Output 2 the conditions for demand response from electricity consumers are to be improved by devising business models for load shifting. Output 3 aims, by implementing pilots, to enable selected DISCOMs to operate and maintain their distribution networks more safely with an increasing proportion of decentralised RE systems, without losing sight of the technical and organisational challenges facing them. Output 4 is creating a capacity-building roadmap and improving conditions for training specialists from DISCOMs on the four areas mentioned above.