One Nation, One Grid- building last-mile connectivity

Power is essential to implementing infrastructure, and the economy as a country works to strengthen its  infrastructure. The PM Gati Shakti NMP portal provides “Ona e-click Comprehensive view” to guide and simplify the planning and implementation process by reducing the time and cost of implementation in power transmission projects. It would also help to improve logistics efficiency by utilising a single digital platform and multi-modal portal.
To achieve our ambitious goal of having 1000 MW of solar capacity by 2022, the government connected the southern region to the central grid in a synchronous mode in 2013 while also commissioning the appropriate solar power transmission line. Commenting on this development, Shirish S Garud, Director – of Renewable Energy Technology, TERI says “We have an excellent corridor for connecting solar parks and other areas to the grid. Additionally, we intend to have an interstate and intrastate transmission scheme with a 72,000 cKm transmission line and a 28,000 cKm capacity for transmission transformers.”
Growth of the power sector in India While discussing the growth factors of the Indian power sector Raghavendra Mirji, Sr. Vice President Growth of the power sector in India While discussing the growth factors of the Indian power sector Raghavendra Mirji, Sr. Vice President & Head – Electrical & Electronics Division at Godrej, Boyce Mfg. Co states “India’s electricity industry is expanding, yet the country still uses about 1400 kilowatts per person on average today. Urbanisation is expanding quickly, and typical Indians’ lifestyles are undoubtedly improving. India is completing the last mile of connection by linking all communities to its network; thus, they will also provide the consumption.”
The industries are expanding in terms of “Atma Nirbhar Bharath,” “Made in India,” looking at various sectors that are opening up on the export potential; therefore, the industry is also going to emerge, and all of these things will place a great deal of pressure on the electrical energy consumption.
Improving the grid infrastructure
While utilities are preparing, they must build the necessary infrastructure, particularly on the transmission side. According to the data, we are falling behind because of investments; if we compare generation and transmission, the transmission always has a lower budget and expenses. In terms of transformation capacity, we would require around 5 to 6 MVA of transformation to evacuate one megawatt of power.
As per the latest data, the per capita power consumption is around 1208 kWh; and is expected to touch 1500 Kwh in the next 3-4 years, fuelled by socio-economic and technological progress. “We are looking at three aspects to improve the infrastructure’s efficiency and dependability: first, unlocking more capacity inside existing transmission lines by leveraging new-age technologies; second, building National-Level HighCapacity Corridors; to meet the upcoming demand. Thirdly, the aim is to uplift the revenue/ delivery through smart metering, network strengthening, IT/OT systems, energy-efficient power devices and consumer appliances”, explains Dhavaleshwar Puvvati, Product Manager, Product Engineering, FluentGrid Limited.
Since we are currently only between 2.3 and 2.4, we must create a thorough enhanced infrastructure plan to boost the transmission system in India if we are to overcome the challenges. Transmission lines and transformer capacities for the distribution network also need to be enhanced, and losses from TNT must decline. As a result of the improved distribution system, significant infrastructure is being generated. The National Infrastructure Pipeline has already presented a big investment proposal for our industry. The federal government or the state utilities have prepared the transmission network for investment over the next five years. This network consists of substations as well as lines and microgrids. As a result, that is how the per capita consumption that will increase in the near future will be dealt with.

Clean energy targets
While elaborating on the plan for clean energy targets, Garud emphasises “By 2030, we need to fivefold our regenerative capacity to 50 GW per year. “Our goal is to reach 500 GW of clean energy. However, nuclear and hydropower are only a minor part of India’s current energy mix, and we only have about 200 GW of clean energy capacity that is either operational or under construction. “It has taken us almost 20 years to get here.”
It is noted that numerous bioenergy projects are upcoming in India, and the government is actively pushing the use of biomass, the solar, wind, and other forms of bioenergy. It is reasonable to be optimistic that these initiatives will help us attain our goal.
Garud further discusses the investments and latest technology for the power sector, where he quotes, “In order to handle these capacities, we need to have a strong transmission and distribution infrastructure.” Additionally, it may incorporate many design ideas, including combinations of microgrids and others. The Indian electricity sector is in a  dynamic phase right now, and consumers must play a highly active role along the entire value chain. Consumers today are relatively passive; they simply pay their bills without question. However, in the future, they will be evaluated based on day rates or peak rates. Furthermore, distribution firms will communicate with consumers through applications, providing updates on the best times to use electricity, whether rates are low or high.
According to Prateek Saxena, Founder & CEO of Hygge Energy, a UN report stated that who are claiming carbon credits for green energy are inflating them by almost three types, which is true. We are promoting the idea that if DISCOM owns a battery and tracks it in real-time as the power we are producing at any given moment, smart metres can help us find the location, unit, and capacity of electricity generated and power consumption. Only then can we be sure that applications using green energy are actually offsetting carbon emissions.
Challenges in implementing grid-connected rooftop programs
According to Saxena, the two most serious issues faced by DISCOMs around the world in their efforts to promote rooftop solar are evaluation and implementation. Some of the various challenges include net metering programs, where both the customer and the owner face price losses. So definitely, it is not an effective investment for the rooftop owner.
Another problem we faced was that DISCOM wanted us to have an inverter, which was 80 percent of the total solar capacity. This is a total waste of investment, and therefore the total solar generation is not used effectively. There has been no successful, effective net metering programme seen so far due to the mentioned challenges; also, DISCOMs are not able to recover their investment. I think DISCOM owners should not only promote rooftop solar but also contribute to rooftop solar by developing a community-sized battery. Instead of having multiple batteries in the local community, rooftop owners should have just one. They should invest in power trading instead of energy trading, which will be more effective.
RE Integrated grid
While appreciating the near achievement of constituting the 175 GW of RE capacity before time, there is also a much-thoughtout process in its integration with existing grid infrastructure. “The intermittency of the RE sources poses a challenge to availability, forecasting and dispatch function”, says Puvvati. The establishment of 11 REMCs in 2020 has already enabled us to orchestrate this integration in terms of operations and visibility at generation and transmission levels. The next stage would be to foray into the DERs at the local grid level and achieve harmonisation at the distribution level.
Mirji, on the other hand, highlights that renewable energy grid integration focuses on incorporating renewable energy, distributed generations, energy storage, thermally activated technologies and demand responses into the electrical distribution and transmission system. Integration in demand management is essential as presently, we are facing various challenges in demand management, and renewable energy integration is capable of handling it.
Secondly, obtaining quality power for efficient integration is key. Today, we are paying a huge cost in reducing carbon emissions through the integration of renewable energy sources is an important factor.
“Integration is also becoming increasingly important in strengthening the grid system’s dependability, security, and resilience. How do we relate this to adapting the entire system to the people now that we have one large system with a high capacity? Consider what would happen if something went wrong with the system, and despite certain redundancies, the entire system failed, resulting in a blackout. At this moment, microgrids come into play, especially with the integration of these renewable resources”, Mirji adds. The improvement will promote the reduction of fossil fuels, especially when considerable reductions in gasoline and diesel are discussed. These are the primary objectives, and it is critical that we incorporate them.
The intelligent operation of the entire power system, from generation to transmission and distribution, is referred to as smart energy. Many control and monitoring technologies, as well as automation systems, assist us in running and maintaining an optimally functioning power system. Furthermore, with the rising demand for efficient power transmission and distribution, the Indian grid is being stretched to its limits. As a result, there is a greater requirement for smart metres and smart power systems to monitor and manage the intricacies of energy infrastructure.
The government’s push for “One Sun, One World, One Grid” has set the stage for a robust and trustworthy transmission system to support India’s renewable energy (RE) goals while assisting the worldwide expansion of renewables. Power transmission has been a crucial facilitator in the RE tale, and several essential power projects facilitate RE evacuation across the nation. The Ministry of Power has launched nine high-impact power projects (10 transmission lines) that cover six states with abundant renewable energy sources: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The necessary project information has been mapped in the portal by adding a distinct layer of ISTS transmission lines that includes the basic information (like line route, tower location, location of substation, name of the owner, etc.)
“The intermittency of the RE sources poses a challenge to availability, forecasting and dispatch functions” – Dhavaleshwar Puvvati, Product Manager, Product Engineering, FluentGrid Limited.
“The lack of investment for transmission and generations has led us to fall behind even when the budget is low.” – Raghavendra Mirji, Sr. Vice President & Head – the Electrical & Electronics Division, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co.
“Strong transmission and distribution infrastructure is a necessity to maintain the capacity for combining microgrids.” –Shirish S. Garud, Director- Renewable Energy Technology, TERI.
“DISCOM owners should not only promote rooftop solar but also invest in power trading for efficiency.” – Prateek Saxena, Founder & CEO, Hygge Energy.