Smart grids

Smart grids represent a fundamental shift in how electricity networks are planned and operated. By leveraging digital technologies, real-time communication, and automation, smart grids enable utilities to respond dynamically to changing grid conditions. For India, this transformation is critical to maintaining reliability while integrating large volumes of solar and wind power. 

The Indian power system is evolving faster than most global peers. Electricity demand is rising. Rooftop solar, electric mobility, and distributed generation are accelerating. The grid, once designed for predictable one-direction flows, is becoming a dynamic, decentralised organism. To manage it, India requires data that is just as distributed as the energy sources feeding the system. This is where decentralised RF mesh networks have begun to play an important role.

As smart grid tech is rolled out around the world to modernize legacy assets and integrate renewable energy generation, it is also making the electricity network more prone to cyber attacks. IEC Standards provide protection but they also are challenged to keep up with the latest threats.

As India accelerates its energy transition and modernises its grid infrastructure, the energy and utility sector will move beyond its traditional functionality. Cybersecurity, once a back-office IT concern, is now at the front, especially for Operational Technology (OT).

Digital adoption across the renewable energy value chain reveals a stark imbalance. Operations and maintenance (O&M) has embraced digitalization most enthusiastically, with SCADA systems and IoT-enabled devices revolutionizing efficiency through real-time monitoring and resource optimization. However, engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) processes remain surprisingly under-digitized despite their critical importance.

With these additions, Genus Power Infrastructures’ total order book, including all special purpose vehicles and the GIC Platform, stands at about INR 28,000 crore (net of taxes).

The adoption of smart technologies is reshaping the utilities industry, with a particular focus on smart grids. Smart grids leverage advanced sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and real-time data analytics to transform how electricity is generated, distributed, and consumed.

In a bid to avoid costly grid augmentation, Spanish electric vehicle (EV) charger supplier Wallbox has designed a multi-layered energy intelligence solution – proving that necessity is the mother of invention.

To increase the share of renewable energy, India needs to introduce demand-side measures like time-of-use tariffs, develop a well-connected national grid, deploy various energy storage options for grid balancing services, and convert its fossil-fuel-powered fleet to operate flexibly.

While the current policy regime supports the adoption of flexible resources like batteries, grid flexibility and resilience require more focus and a range of calibrated efforts, including due acknowledgment as a sector priority and robust planning at the central and state level. The upcoming union budget provides an opportunity for the government to develop flexible and resilient grids.