Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) to facilitate clean energy interventions that can modernise the grid and improve the distribution sector’s performance.
The power sector in India is undergoing a sea change clearly visible in the increasing deployment of clean energy and the rising prevalence of grid connected distributed generation. India’s distribution companies (discoms) are a vital stakeholder group in this transition. But ongoing power sector problems, particularly insolvency among discoms, is a pivotal roadblock. Most discoms incur vast losses every year. Unable to pay generators on time, they have accumulated huge debts and are unable to supply reliable and high-quality power to their customers.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the distribution sector to a tipping point. Falling demand across consumer categories impacted discom revenues. On the supply side, the increasing quantum of renewable energy from solar and wind tested the resilience of the distribution system. With 2022 being the hottest year over the last decade, the change in climatic patterns affected accurate scheduling generation and dispatch from renewables.
Under the agreement, Shakti and TPDDL will collaborate to design and demonstrate innovative technologies and interventions that will increase the technical and commercial efficiency of the distribution sector by facilitating multi-stakeholder coordination and public-private dialogue.
Tata Power-DDL, a joint venture between Tata Power and the Government of NCT of Delhi, distributes electricity in north Delhi and serves seven million people.