The Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) two-day international conference-cum-exhibition, “Making Indian Power Sector AI-Enabled” brought together policymakers, senior officials, regulators, power utilities, industry leaders and technology experts to discuss how AI can be used across India’s power sector.
Speaking virtually, Manohar Lal, Minister for Power and Housing and Urban Affairs, said the future of a large and complex power system lies not only in producing more electricity but in managing it intelligently. He said India’s installed capacity has reached about 555 GW, and the country now needs a system that can understand demand in advance, integrate renewable energy and storage better, and give consumers uninterrupted and affordable power.
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, in a virtual address, said India has over 305 GW of non-fossil capacity, close to 55% of its total installed capacity of 554.5 GW. He said the key question is how intelligently India can integrate, transmit, dispatch and consume clean energy. AI, he said, can improve renewable forecasting, support real-time grid balancing, optimise storage, reduce curtailment and help find congestion in the network.
Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shripad Yesso Naik, said India reached 50% non-fossil installed capacity in June 2025, more than five years ahead of its 2030 NDC timeline. As of 30 September 2026, non-fossil capacity had crossed 308 GW, including over 171 GW of solar and 59 GW of wind. Peak demand touched 256 GW in April 2026 and 270 GW in July 2026. He said India is no longer just building a bigger power system but a more complex one, and AI can help manage it. “Technology becomes meaningful only when it improves the life of our people,” he said, adding that AI must be reliable, explainable and secure.
During the session, CEA launched three documents and tools. Vidyut Dwar is an online portal for cross-border electricity trade, where CEA is the designated authority for approving imports and exports with neighbouring countries. It brings the full application process onto one platform, letting applicants submit documents online, track status and access approvals, and it makes the process paperless, faster and more transparent.
The dignitaries also unveiled the CEA Manual on Transmission Planning Criteria 2026, which covered capacity expansion, reliability, renewable energy integration, new technologies and better use of transmission corridors, including planning criteria for right-of-way challenges. The third launch was the Unified Framework for Digitalisation of the Distribution Sector, which gives power distribution companies a common direction to adopt digital technologies in a phased, need-based and outcome-oriented way.
Ghanshyam Prasad, CEA Chairperson, said the sector’s challenge has changed from keeping the lights on to managing where power comes from, where it flows and when it is needed. He traced India’s journey from 13 GW at Independence to a single national grid. He said the sector’s plans, standards and regulations are the runway, and AI is the aircraft that needs it. He said CEA has set up a dedicated team of 54 officers on AI, and that the sector must build AI capability within its institutions and not only buy solutions.
The conference focussed on the use of AI across generation, transmission, distribution, markets and cybersecurity.
