The Union Ministry of Power on Tuesday released the Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2026 for public consultation, proposing wide-ranging reforms to prepare India’s power sector for rising demand, clean energy integration and market-based operations in line with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
The draft policy proposes increasing per capita electricity consumption to 2,000 kWh by 2030 and over 4,000 kWh by 2047, up from 1,460 kWh in 2024–25, reflecting the growing role of electricity in economic growth and decarbonisation.
To address persistent challenges in distribution, the policy proposes automatic tariff revision, progressive recovery of fixed costs through demand charges, and a reduction in cross-subsidies to improve financial viability and industrial competitiveness.
It introduces resource adequacy planning at utility, state and national levels to ensure timely capacity addition, while placing strong emphasis on renewable energy and storage, including market-based deployment of battery energy storage systems and peer-to-peer energy trading.
The draft also outlines measures to repurpose older thermal plants for grid support, expand nuclear capacity to 100 GW by 2047 through advanced and modular reactors, and accelerate storage-based hydropower development for energy and water security.
Transmission reforms include addressing right-of-way challenges, ensuring parity in transmission tariffs for renewables, and improving grid utilisation, while distribution reforms aim to achieve single-digit AT&C losses, shared networks, and the creation of a Distribution System Operator.
The policy further proposes strengthening grid operations, cybersecurity, domestic data storage and a transition to indigenously developed SCADA systems by 2030.
The Ministry of Power has invited stakeholders to submit comments before finalising the policy.
