Indian economy is driven by electricity, powering industry zeal, digital utopia, and sustainable growth. Whereas we only hear of the generation of solar energy in Rajasthan and Hydro generation in the northeast, what goes on in the background is an endless network of wires, towers and transformers that transmit that power all across the country. What we are talking about here is the power transmission and distribution (T&D) sector as one of the most dramatic revamps in the infrastructure sector of India.

The main role the T&D sector plays is to facilitate uninterrupted transfer of power all the way to where it is used or consumed, be it by factories, households, hospitals, and even data centers. However this is supposedly a simple task which has become unimaginably complicated by the fact that energy demands of India are on the rise and the country is also in a hurry to get renewable energy on the grid.

A System under pressure, poised for opportunity

India has one of the largest T&D infrastructure in the world, yet this infrastructure has not been able to sustain the demand at the same pace. The aging infrastructure and capacity bottlenecks and technical losses have presented a long-standing problem. Along with that an increasing proportion of renewables, which are variable and in remote locations contribute the  grid to be overloaded.

India has been working on a great roadmap to address this. In the period, FY2022 to FY2032, the estimated investment that the nation proposes to make in new transmission lines, substations, and other infrastructure stands at almost 9 Lakh Crore. The investments do not only grow and attract but also enhance quality, reliability and resilience. With a transformation capacity addition of more than 13 MVA in FY32 or almost twice the current level, the National Electricity Plan depicted the government expects its installation to change.

This is not just the matter of scaling but about smart infrastructure that involves HVDC lines to reduce losses in long distance, STATCOMs to control power quality and digital intelligence such as SCADA and smart meters for real-time control and billing accuracy.

Green Energy requires a Green Grid

The renewable energy mission in India is one of the greatest forces behind T&D growth in various elements. The country is betting big on solar, wind and hydro with an aspiration of aiming to achieve 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. However, it is not the only part of the battle to generate green power; it is also crucial to evacuate the power quickly. This is where the Green Energy Corridor initiative would play a role. Built in a manner to integrate renewable energy, it points at providing dedicated transmission lines as well as smart substations in order to handle the erratic nature of solar and wind energy. Large-scale clean power would simply remain stranded at generation sites.

The Private sector comes to the rescue

For decades, the space belonged to public utilities like Power Grid Corporation of India. However, 10 years ago, there was a boom in the number of private players. Opportunities have been opened up by the tariff- based competitive bidding (TBCB) model which has spurred cost efficiency, and the fast pace of projects.

The equipment manufacturing industry is now seeing a shift even though it was highly import-intensive. Not only India, Domestic companies are investing on new capacities in towers, cables, transformers and advanced power quality devices in the entire world market.

From  Steel & Copper to Software and Data

The extensive use of digital technologies has made all the difference in the current growth scenario. Indian grid is getter smarter. The utilities are implementing SCADA system for remote monitoring, putting in place millions of smart meters to ensure precise billing, and they are using big data to predict loads and optimize flows.

There are already pilot outage management systems (OMS) being tested in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi which are able to detect faults and redirect power within a few seconds. Other applications of AI have led to the ability to foresee the failure of the transformer, which may cause the blackout, and save millions of maintenance costs. On the distribution side, smart grids have opened up two-way communication; these are necessary to realize rooftop solar, EV charging, and even peer-to-peer energy trading.

The Obstacles in the Way

The road is not smooth. The speed of the regulatory clearance of land acquisition is slow. Distribution companies (DISCOMs), most of which are economically distressed, are a liability with regard to payment delays and theft of power. There is a vast spread of technology adoption that can be seen in different regions, forming an asymmetrical grid performance terrain. In addition, India continues to depend on multinational companies in some of the sophisticated technologies such as high voltage direct current converter and the high-end FACTS devices. Not only does this gap need to be bridged with capital, but also with policy support, skill development and investments in R&D.

Opportunity Grid

India as a place has a T&D sector that not only responds to the demand of energy, but forecasts it. It could be solar-rich desert corridors, buried cables in the urban centers or automating rural feeders, but the year 2027 will turn the electricity movement in the nation into something new. The best thing is that this is not a technical change; rather, it is economic, social, and environmental. The more efficient grid will include less expense, less waste, and good air. What it implies is greater strength to industries, less power cuts to homes and improved dividends to investors.

Transmission and distribution system can be regarded as an engine of the Indian growth in a sense. It might not reach the top line of a newspaper as a solar park or a wind farm but keeping the lights on will be there and that, in a country aspiring to be independent of energy and net-zero may well be what is needed.