India’s power consumption increased by nearly 8.5% to 119.64 billion units in November, attributed to festivities and increased economic activities. The peak power demand also rose significantly compared to the previous year. Experts expect a steady growth trend in power consumption due to improvements in economic activities.
Small renewable energy projects installed by consumers are set to get a boost as the government has modified the proposed growth trajectory of renewable energy purchase obligations for distribution companies and open access consumers, and made it more stringent. A new segment called ‘distributed renewable energy’ has been introduced. Renewable energy projects with capacity of less than 10 megawatt (MW) installed by consumers under any arrangement will qualify for renewable purchase obligation from the distributed renewable energy segment. Purchase obligation for new wind energy projects stands at 0.67% of total energy used for FY25. For FY30, it is at 3.48%.
The Indian government is exploring the inclusion of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure within the priority sector lending category. This move could provide a boost to the EV sector and align with the government’s goal of increasing the proportion of EVs on Indian roads. Discussions with the Reserve Bank of India are underway, and the power ministry has expressed support by writing a letter to the Department of Financial Services. This initiative aims to facilitate credit flow to the EV sector through financial institutions.
