India's Renewable Energy Capacity Reaches 49%

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) India's renewable energy share in the total installed power capacity has increased to 49 per cent in April 2025 from 32 per cent in 2014, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal said on Friday.

Addressing the Regional Conference for the Northern Region States/UTs in Chandigarh, the minister said states should also work on having an adequate power generation mix, including the addition of nuclear generation capacity while meeting their resource adequacy plan.

He also pointed out that states should complete the installation of prepaid smart metres in government establishments and colonies by August 2025 and for all commercial, industrial and high-load consumers by November 2025.

States should work towards listing power sector utilities to generate additional resources and improve transparency and governance, the minister noted.

"We successfully met a peak demand of 250 GW in May 2024 and India has transformed from power-deficit to a power-sufficient nation and as of today, peak demand shortage is zero," he said.

He outlined the importance of continuous cooperation and coordination between central and state governments in achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

India's peak electricity demand is projected to reach 446 GW by 2034-35 and meeting this sustainably requires proactive planning and continued coordination between the centre, states, and stakeholders, the minister said.

He also advised states to implement Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) Guidelines and urged them to form dedicated teams for this critical planning.

The minister highlighted the importance of cyber-security measures and islanding schemes as effective measures to prevent power outages due to cyber concerns and enable the resilience of the grid.

The meeting was attended by Anil Vij ( Energy Minister, Haryana), Harbhajan Singh ( Power Minister, Punjab), Subodh Uniyal (Forest Minister, Uttarakhand), A K Sharma ( Energy Minister, Uttar Pradesh), Ashish Sood (Power Minister, Delhi), Javed Ahmad Rana (Jal Shakti, Environment & Forest & Tribal Affairs, Jammu & Kashmir) and Heeralal Nagar (Energy Minister of State, Rajasthan).