Greening the Grid (GTG) Newsletter Vol 4, Aug 2018 - Feb, 2019 - Greening the Grid (GTG) Newsletter Renewable Integration and Sustainable Energy (RISE) Initiative under Greening the

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Greening the Grid (GTG) Newsletter

India Paving the Way for Green Grid

USAID’s Greening the Grid (GTG) is a five-year program implemented in partnership with India’s Ministry of Power (MOP) under the USAID’s ASIA EDGE (Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy) Initiative.1 The program aims to support the Government of India’s (GOI) efforts to manage the large-scale integration of RE into the grid and combines the following three components which interact with each other.

1. Power system planning reforms and targeted analysis for large RE parks and RE integration pilots implemented by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories

2. Renewable Integration and Sustainable Energy (RISE) initiative to implement innovation pilots, aimed at testing and evaluating building blocks to improve the integration of RE

3. Peer-to-Peer exchanges between U.S.-India system operators (System Operator Partnership) and regulators (India Regulatory Partnership)

About GTG Program

India’s Union Power Minister, Mr. R. K. Singh said, “The power sector is witnessing an increased demand which is further expected to go up in the near future. The current consumption of 1200 units per capita is expected to grow 2-3 times at par with the international consumption after each and every individual of the country has access to electricity.” Mr. Singh was addressing the gathering at Indian Power Stations (IPS) 2019, an international operation and maintenance conference organized annually by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), held on February 13, 2019 in Raipur. Mr. Singh reiterated that with initiatives being undertaken by the government to augment power generation and distribution in the country, like the Saubhagya Scheme and flexibilization of power plants, the government’s directive to fulfil 40% of power requirements through non-fossil fuels by 2030 is on track. The conference was attended by over 500 delegates including Union Power Secretary Mr. A. K. Bhalla, NTPC Limited’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Gurdeep Singh, dignitaries from Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) and other power utilities.

Variable and intermittent output from renewable energy (RE) sources requires load generation balance. Adding renewable energy to the electric grid means that conventional sources of electricity, such as coal power plants, need to be ‘flexible’ enough to respond rapidly. NTPC, India’s central generating utility, has been proactively piloting flexibility at a number of its coal-generating plants, including the units at its Dadri, Simhadri, Farakka, Jhajjar and Ramagundam stations. The latter two are being implemented under the USAID’s GTG-RISE initiative. Under the same initiative, the techno-economics feasibility of flexible operations in two (2) units of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL), the state generation utility of Gujarat, is also being undertaken. The damage cost modelling exercise for the units at both utilities have been completed and both NTPC and GSECL are now eager to formulate fleet-wide strategies for their coal-based power stations. Key learnings from the damage cost modelling study under the initiative was also presented in a paper titled ‘Techno-economics of Flexibilization in Regulated Indian Market’ during the IPS 2019 conference. This paper discussed the proposed regulatory pathway for supporting flexibilization in the country and will also be submitted to the Hon’ble CERC of India. The GTG-RISE will continue to provide strategic support to both NTPC and GSECL, including helping both utilities analyse investment costs and options, and develop plans to obtain regulatory approval from the CERC, Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC), and the CEA.

Greening the Grid (GTG) Newsletter

About GTG Program

Photo:@RajKSinghIndia on twitter

Vol 4, Aug 2018 - Feb 2019

USAID’s Greening the Grid (GTG) is a five-year program implemented in partnership with India’s Ministry of Power (MOP) under the USAID’s ASIA EDGE (Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy) Initiative.1 The program aims to support the Government of India’s (GOI) efforts to manage the large-scale integration of RE into the grid and combines the following three components which interact with each other.

1. Power system planning reforms and targeted analysis for large RE parks and RE integration pilots implemented by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories

2. Renewable Integration and Sustainable Energy (RISE) initiative to implement innovation pilots, aimed at testing and evaluating building blocks to improve the integration of RE

3. Peer-to-Peer exchanges between U.S.-India system operators (System Operator Partnership) and regulators (India Regulatory Partnership)

1 USAID’s Asia EDGE initiative aims to enhance the economic and energy security of Asian countries by promoting a more affordable and reliable energy system that is also more globally accessible by focusing on four key areas; Regional Energy Trade and Integration, Increased Deployment of Advanced Energy Systems, Utility Modernization and adoption of Transparent and Best Value Procurement practices.

Vol 4, Aug 2018 - Feb, 2019 - Greening the Grid (GTG) Newsletter2

Renewable Integration and Sustainable Energy (RISE) Initiative under Greening the Grid

India is in the middle of a clean energy revolution, and the power sector is working to develop and deploy RE to help bring affordable and reliable electricity to everyone and meet the country’s growing energy needs. To support this effort, India is changing its energy policies and reforming both the government and private sector energy markets. In early 2018, the India National Electricity Plan (NEP) set a new target for 40% of India’s total electricity to come from RE by 2030. The previous target was expressed as a specific amount (175 GW by March 2022), and as of October 2018, India was almost halfway there. Because RE is growing so fast, it is hard for India’s utilities, including the system operators, to make necessary changes and keep pace with it. One of those key changes is to make coal power plants more flexible.

The transition to a high variable renewable energy (VRE) grid presents several challenges to generation utilities and system operations and necessitates flexible grid operations to manage VRE. This shall require coal-based generating stations to be more responsive to flexibility requirements.

India’s coal power plants have for long periods operated under deficit conditions, requiring them to maximize their output and operate as baseload stations. Over the 12th five-year plan period (2012 to 2017), their operating conditions have changed dramatically in Indian states as surplus power conditions emerge and RE capacity is deployed rapidly. CERC has mandated that central generating stations should go down to a technical minimum of operation at 55% of maximum continuous rating (MCR) loading or installed capacity (CERC, April 6, 2016).

Utilities that operate several coal power plants, like NTPC, will need to be able to ramp down and then ramp up their power plants on demand. Many coal power plants have multiple units; some of those units will need to start and stop more frequently to keep the power grid stable. Such stop-start operation costs money and stresses the equipment. NTPC and other utilities are modifying their plants to make them ready to ramp up and down, coordinating with regulators like CERC and GERC.

Flexing of coal units in India would certainly result in additional costs due to factors such as loss of units’ and equipment’s useful life, modification/retrofit costs to make units ready for cycling, increased Operation & Maintenance (O&M) expenses, decreased efficiency due to heat rate degradation, and increased auxiliary power consumption. Compensation mechanisms for the resulting additional costs need to be designed with the approval of regulators to ensure financial sustenance of the generating companies. These financial mechanisms also should address the unique challenges that plant operators would face while retrofitting thermal power plants in India.

Coal-based generation utilities in India need to start from identifying the units within their fleet for cyclic operations in the future and work on addressing the requirements of flexible operations in such units.

Indian Perspective and Readiness Towards Flexible Generation

The GTG-RISE Initiative implements pilots that show and validate the approaches and technologies needed to support RE addition into the electric grid. These pilots focus on innovative technologies, such as those that help make coal power plants more flexible. This newsletter describes India’s efforts to move toward more flexible electricity generation and how GTG-RISE is supporting those efforts.

India’s NEP has set the new target of 40% of total electricity from RE by 2030 and the country has already added 71.85 GW of RE by October 2018. As per NEP, by March 2019, India’s thermal power capacity will shrink down to 63% from 70% of total installed capacity of about 350 GW.

Vol 4, Aug 2018 - Feb, 2019 - Greening the Grid (GTG) Newsletter 3

USAID’s GTG-RISE initiative is undertaking a range of pilots to help establish the coal flexibility framework in India. The ongoing pilots at NTPC and GSECL shall be able to provide learnings for the country for meeting the flexing requirements from coal units and create awareness through successful use cases.

The pilots are leveraging international experience under the GTG-RISE initiative to implement flexibility across a representative range of power generating units in India. The damage cost modelling studies at the NTPC’s Ramagundam (200 MW), Jhajjar (500 MW) and GSECL’s Ukai TPS (200 MW & 500 MW) have been completed and key recommendations from the studies have been shared with NTPC and GSECL. The major recommendations include modifications of operations procedures, carrying out test runs to determine system limitation, specific interventions such as nitrogen cap on condensate tanks, flame monitors, installation of asset health monitoring equipment, etc. NTPC has already moved ahead with one of the suggested recommendations on retrofitting of Nitrogen Sparging and blanketing system in demineralised (DM) storage and condensate storage tanks across its NTPC stations.

The GTG-RISE, through its experts, also supported the successful pilot test run at NTPC’s Mauda Unit in Maharashtra (February 15 – 17, 2019) and moving forward will help in determining the system limitations for flexible operation and lowering the stable minimum load level. The test run will help in preparing standardizing operational procedures for flexible operation which will be developed under the project.

In addition to the pilot implementation, GTG-RISE is also preparing a paper to advise India’s regulators on what they can do to support coal power plant flexing in India, including necessary compensation mechanisms for regulated power plants and changes required to market mechanisms to accommodate various costs of start-up and load-following.

GTG-RISE Initiative - Pilot on Flexible Power Generation

Flexibility potential capacity for coal-based stations in the country would vary from 60-80 GW and require approximately $2 billion of investment, depending upon the level of RE penetration in the coming years.

Site Visit to NTPC’s Ramagundam Plant, May 23-25, 2018

Site Visit to GSECL’s Ukai Plant, Aug 27-30, 2018


Site Visit to Solana Generating Station (280 MW), Gila Bend (Arizona) - First solar plant with molten salt thermal energy storage, March 27, 2018

Site Visit to PacifiCorp’s Huntington Plant (895 MW), UT - Coal-based power generation facility, March 30, 2018

Executive Exchange Program on Flexible Power Generation

The U.S.-India System Operators Partnership, a key component of the GTG program, implemented by the U.S. Energy Association (USEA) facilitates training, peer-to-peer exchanges, workshops, and study tours for relevant stakeholders from India that operate the grid at the state level (State Load Dispatch Centres, or SLDCs), Independent System Operators (ISOs), and utilities. These activities are focused on sharing U.S. and international experiences with Indian counterparts.

In March 2018, USAID sponsored an Indian delegation’s study tour to the U.S. to discuss learnings around adding large amounts of RE to the grid and flexible coal power plant operations. The Indian delegation included representatives from POSOCO, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), Gujarat SLDC, MP Power Transmission Co. Ltd., Telangana SLDC and GSECL. The delegation met with electricity utilities, such as PacifiCorp and Arizona Public Service Company, and visited two coal-based thermal power plants that provide “flexing” services in the California energy market. The delegation also met with CAISO (California ISO) and the California Energy Commission to understand the challenges and learnings from California’s experience in aggressively adding more RE into its power system. The delegation also visited one of the largest Concentrated Solar Plant (CSP) in the U.S in Soluna.

The delegates learnt how utilities in the Western U.S have addressed grid stability issues resulting from high levels of solar and wind penetration. They also understood approaches for improving the flexibility of coal-fired power plants to handle frequent start-ups, and rapid load changes amid increasing VRE penetration.

In continuation with its executive knowledge exchange and capacity building activities under the U.S-India System Operator Partnership, the GTG program brought five senior or mid-level officials or plant operators working on GTG-RISE pilots to the U.S. from January 26 to February 1, 2019 to gain insights on coal flexing to support VRE. The objective of the executive exchange was to discuss coal flexing operational practices, infrastructure improvements, and damage mitigation techniques to address coal flexing’s impacts. The exchange also focused on benefits that arise from power plant investments required for flexing operations. The team, which included senior executives from GSECL and NTPC, visited three power plants to understand efficient emission control technologies including Duke Energy’s Marshall Steam Station, one of the most efficient power plants in the U.S., and the Comanche and Pawnee generation stations. The team also visited the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The executive exchange enabled power plant operators and engineers to learn from the experiences of U.S. power plants and utilities that have successfully tried and adopted flexible power plant operations, further contributing to India’s efforts to achieve its fleet-wide coal flexibility target

Other GTG Activities on Flexible Power Generation


Meeting with Electric Power Research Institute, U.S, Jan 28, 2019

Site Visit to Pawnee Generating Station, Colorado, U.S, Feb 1, 2019

GTG Knowledge Dissemination Workshops

Workshops, including bootcamps, are essential activities under GTG program to share knowledge with and train stakeholders. USAID has organized two programs on Coal Generation Flexibility so far.

Workshop on Coal Generation Flexing to Support VRE Integration and Grid Balancing. March 6-7, 2018


Under the U.S.-India System Operators Partnership, a one-day workshop was organized at NTPC. More than 50 representatives from various generation utilities and other relevant stakeholders attended the workshop chaired by Mr. C. V. Anand, Executive Director (OS), and Mr. G. Venu, Executive Director (Engg), NTPC Limited. During the workshop, international experts from the Clean Coal Centre of the IEA, GE and Intertek shared their experiences and learnings on operating coal-based power plants more flexibly to support VRE integration. The workshop aimed to advance participants’ knowledge on operational improvements, mitigation techniques, infrastructure improvements and ways to measure and minimize operation and maintenance (O&M) impacts.

Workshop on Coal Generation Flexing Operational Practices to Support VRE Integration, March 8, 2018

A two-day “Knowledge Dissemination Workshop on Coal Generation Flexing Practices to Support Variable Renewable Energy Integration” was organized at Power Management Institute (PMI), NTPC in Noida. Attended by 60 professionals from generating facilities from NTPC units, states and private generation companies (GENCOs), policy makers and regulators, the workshop presented the findings of the techno-economic feasibility pilot study conducted as a part of the NTPC pilots under GTG-RISE. U.S. and German experts from such companies as Intertek, GE and Siemens, made detailed presentations on such topics as technical interventions to improve flexibility and their commercial implications. The experts shared the key findings and recommendations including operational measures for flame stability, nitrogen sparging and blanketing of Demineralized storage tanks at NTPC stations.

“We are aiming for close to 40% of RE mix by 2022 and the challenges lies in operating the fossil fuel plants at minimum loads and flexibility is need of the hour.”

Mr. C.V. Anand (Executive Director – Operation Services) of NTPC

Workshop on Coal Generation Flexing Practices to Support VRE Integration, Aug 24-25, 2018

Under the U.S.-India System Operators Partnership, a two-day workshop was organized at POSOCO, for system operators, generators and other relevant stakeholders, to support the integration of solar and wind power into the grid through increased reliance on coal as a flexible balancing source. Speaking at the inaugural session, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of POSOCO, Mr. K. V. S. Baba, highlighted the importance of flexing the thermal generation for renewable integration. He further added that the more we flex the more we reduce the curtailment of renewables without losing efficiency. During the workshop, international experts from Clean Coal Centre in International Energy Agency (IEA), General Electric Company (GE) and Intertek shared their experiences and learnings on operating coal-based power plants more flexibly to support Variable Renewable Energy integration and grid balancing. The workshop brought together more than 60 participants from Indian generators and system operators from 14 states.


To share the findings of techno-commercial feasibility study assessments under the GTG-RISE pilot for both the units at GSECL’s Ukai plant and promote knowledge exchange, a two-day knowledge dissemination workshop was organized in Vadodara (Gujarat) in partnership with GSECL. More than 50 plant operators and other executives representing GSECL, GERC, Gujarat Urja Vitran Nigam Ltd (GUVNL), Gujarat SLDC, Western Regional Load Despatch Centre (WRLDC), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), brainstormed with international experts during the workshop. Indian and U.S. experts from GTG-RISE and technical partner (Intertek AIM U.S) made detailed presentations on national and international experiences on technical interventions to improve flexibility and their commercial implications. The experts also shared the key findings of feasibility study assessments and recommendations, including operational measures for flame stability, nitrogen blanketing of demineralized tanks, and multi-stage super heater spray at GSECL stations. Going forward, the GTG-RISE will work with GSECL to support the pilot implementation and develop a fleet-wide strategy. The program will also build the business case for policy and regulatory changes to enable flexibility requirements for coal-based stations and shall further contribute to India’s efforts to achieve fleet-wide coal flexibility target.

System operators and regulatory commissions across the globe recognize the value and importance of flexibility. Here are some global experiences and learnings relevant to the Indian context:

United States - Ancillary services, such as regulation, spinning, and non-spinning reserves for supporting grid reliability are procured through a market-based framework. Regional Transmission Operators (RTOs) and ISOs are the agencies responsible for operating ancillary services markets. These markets create additional financial incentives for the flexibility resources

to participate. For example, with increasing grid stability over the years, along with higher VRE penetration, the ancillary services market in CAISO has also increased significantly. The procurement cost for these services, required by CAISO, increased to $173 million in 2017, up from $119 million in 2016 and $62 million in 2015, creating opportunities for flexibility resources. The weighted average ancillary service clearing price determined in the day-ahead market for regulation-up and spinning reserve were $12.13/MWh and $10.13/MWh in 2017 respectively.

Over the years, along with higher VRE penetration, the size of ancillary services market in CAISO (U.S.) has increased significantly to $173 million in 2017, up from $119 million in 2016 and $62 million in 2015, creating opportunities for flexibility resources.

Market Compensation and Regulation – Developed Countries’ Experience

“India has set huge targets for deployment of large-scale RE and states such as Gujarat with high wind and solar potentials have an important role to play in achieving these targets. Integration of significant amount of RE can pose challenges for both utilities and the SLDCs. USAID India’s GTG RISE pilot on coal flexing, implemented at Ukai unit, would be useful in making overall strategy to implement flexible operation in our own units”.

Mr. P. R. Dahake (Managing Director – GSECL)

“Indian power sector has entered into a new regime characterized by fusion of significant amount of Renewable Energy, which requires conventional power stations to operate more flexibly and at part load operations. The impacts and capital requirements resulting from flexible operations are not known and this pilot study, conducted under USAID’s GTG-RISE Initiative, will guide NTPC’s strategy for its entire fleet.”

Mr. Prakash Tiwari (Director – Operations) of NTPC

Knowledge dissemination workshop on Coal Generation Flexing Practices to Support VRE Integration, Feb 18-19, 2019


In partnership with the POSOCO, a three-day boot camp training on Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for grid applications was organized on November 28-30, 2018 at NRLDC, New Delhi, India. At the inaugural session, CMD of POSOCO, Mr. Baba, highlighted the importance of and need for storage systems for renewable integration and said, “high responsive storage like BESS will help reduce the curtailment of renewables without losing efficiency, and will enhance power reliability”. During the training, international experts from Innolith AG, Southern California Edison (SCE)-USA, ICF and Fluence Energy shared their experiences and learnings on stationary energy storage system technologies,

Additional GTG Events

Training Workshop on Battery Energy Storage Systems for Grid Applications, Nov 28-30, 2018

Additionally, CAISO and other grid operators use scarcity pricing to manage supply shortfalls to meet reserve requirements. A scarcity demand curve determines that the price is higher when the procurement shortfall is larger. Resources are paid during scarcity events based on pre-determined prices linked to maximum energy bid prices. While grid operators such as CAISO put a cap on the maximum price to be paid during scarcity events, the pay-out is still significantly high, i.e. $700/MWh, and creates incentives for resources to meet system reserve demands during shortfalls. While pay-out to individual generators can be inferred as high, the overall cost to the system is low due to very low shortage quantities.

Canada - Grid operators in Canada, such as Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), procure ancillary services such as regulation and operating reserves through a market-based framework. The three types of operating reserve classes that can be offered by dispatchable generators and dispatchable loads are 10-minute synchronized (spinning) reserve, 10-minute non-synchronised (non-spinning) reserve and 30-minute non-synchronized reserve. Operating reserve and energy scheduling in the real-

time market is co-optimized to ensure the most efficient outcome for the market. The price of reserve energy is determined every five minutes based on offers in the market. Average operating prices in IESO for December 2018 for 10-minute synchronized reserve was CAD $4.23/MWh and 10-minute non-synchronized reserve was CAD $ 3.45/MWh.

Additionally, Ontario has the “Real-Time Generation Cost Guarantee Program (RT-GCG Program)” in place. This is a voluntary program administered by the Ontario IESO, under which generators are entitled to recover fuel and incremental operating and maintenance costs. The RT-GCG program ensures that a facility recovers specific generation costs incurred when units come on line. These costs, called ‘combined guaranteed costs,’ include start up and minimum generation costs.

Germany - Transmission System Operators (TSOs) are responsible for managing grid operations and procuring balancing reserves. One TSO, 50Hertz, procures primary, secondary, and tertiary reserves through a tendering process, and carries out participation through a pre-qualification process. As in developed power systems, the system operator drives the demand for reserves and prices are determined through a market-based process. In 2016, renewable energy made up 29.5% of Germany’s total power generation, and

like the United States, the low cost of renewable generation has disadvantaged coal in the day-ahead market. Coal plants have been designed or modified to achieve ramping hourly at a fraction of their full output or daily cycling, giving them the flexibility to be competitive in Germany’s balancing market. Coal also makes up the country’s capacity reserve. Coal plants are the Germany’s last resort in case of long-term scarcity event. Committed capacity reserve units are awarded capacity payments that cover operating costs, even when the plant is at zero output, and reimburse plants for lost profits while on standby. These plants can be committed and placed on standby for up to seven years at an estimated annual cost of €230 million.

Japan - Japan first introduced a competitive electricity market structure in 1995 which was followed by a series of market reforms implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The goals of the market reform were to secure a stable supply of electricity by facilitating power interchange between regions, hold down increasing tariffs as much as possible, and increase consumers’ choice while expanding business opportunities. Although Japan continues to grow its renewable power generation,

coal is inexpensive and continues to be an important staple in the energy market. The need for reliability and energy diversity, coupled with the low cost of coal, has incentivized investors to develop new, flexible, efficient, and low-emissions coal plants that will be subsidized by the government.


IAC Conference on “International Experiences in Grid Level Energy Storage and Applicability for India” Nov 30, 2018

Workshop on Electricity Market Transitions and Bilateral Contracts, New Delhi, Jan 29-30, 2019

Under the Industry Advisory Council (IAC)2 , a roundtable conference on “International Experiences in Grid Level Energy Storage and Applicability for India” was held in New Delhi. The roundtable focused on international experiences and regulatory frameworks for energy storage for grid applications, business models as they pertain to the India markets, the supply chain for manufacturing battery storage units, and next steps for India in each of these areas. More than 35 representatives from various organizations, including financial institutions, national and international utilities, and energy think tanks attended the workshop3. The event concluded by underlining the requirement for a policy paper on energy storage, including needs in various end-use applications. It also stressed the need for continued discussions to develop a roadmap for India. IAC is planning to bring out a white paper on energy storage and to continue discussions in future conferences.

Under Indian Regulatory Partnership, a key component of GTG program, the National Association for Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), is supporting CERC on developing a regulatory paper on transition to electricity markets. A two-day regulatory workshop was organized on the same subject “transitioning long-term contracts to electricity markets” was held in New Delhi on January 29-30, 2019. Experts from New York, Michigan, Colorado, California and Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission made presentation on the regulatory practices and market operations in these states and on the overall transition to market operations in the U.S. Besides transition to energy, ancillary and capacity markets under ISO/ RTO structures, the focus was also to present and discuss resource adequacy, procurement planning and market monitoring under different regional structures in the U.S. The attempt was to draw lessons for the transition that India has embarked on in reorganizing its day-ahead, intra-day and ancillary markets and to explore means of transitioning long-term contracts to electricity markets. The workshop was attended by more than 40 dignitaries representing CERC, POSOCO, CEA, and Indian power exchanges, as well as State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), GENCOs and distribution companies (DISCOMs).

2 USAID’s GTG-RISE Initiative has collaborated with US-India Strategic Partnership Forum to establish the Industry Advisory Council (IAC).

3 Participants included international experts from BESS Bootcamp (Dean Koujak, Navigant; Alan Greenshields, Innolith; Vibhu Kaushik, Southern California Edison, and Kiran Kumaraswamy, Fluence), IAC members (Sterlite, Fluence, RENew, Kreate, Innolith, Apco and First Solar), GTG/RISE, World Bank, US Commercial Service and several prospective members and storage experts from Tata Power, BSES, Ahaana Renewables, Kirloskar, KFW, CEEW, SB Energy, and Climate Studio.

grid applications, and market perspectives to support VRE integration, transmission and distribution (T&D) deferrals and grid balancing. Speaking at the closing session, Additional Secretary, MOP, India, Ghanshyam Prasad, acknowledged the relevance of BESS in the Indian power system and shared the GOI vision on renewable integration and storage system. The training had more than 60 participants from India’s regional/state LDCs, transmission utilities and system operators, including PGCIL, Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) Chandigarh, and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL).


Upcoming Events

USAID, Deutsche Gesellschaft for Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and Department for International Development, United Kingdom, under the bilateral cooperation with the MOP and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), are jointly hosting India’s 2nd International Conference on “Large-Scale Grid Integration of Renewable Energy” in New Delhi in September 2019. The conference will gather international experts and Indian stakeholders to jointly discuss the latest technological, regulatory and conceptual developments in this exciting field.

This conference is the second edition of the 1st International Conference, held in September 2017. The 1st conference featured more than 400 participants from 18 different countries, representing more than 120 organizations, including private and public companies, research institutions and universities. Sixty invited national and international speakers presented papers, including international experts from power utilities (MISO, Xcel Energy, Energinet, etc.), system operators (ERCOT, 50 Hertz, ENTSO etc.), technical institutions (NREL, LBNL, IEA, IRENA, etc.), regulators (NARUC), and private organizations (GE, AWS Truepower, Siemens, etc.) from the U.S., Germany and other European countries.

2nd International Conference on “Large-Scale Grid Integration of Renewable Energy in India”September 2019

The 2nd Conference will provide an International Forum to:

• Discuss technical and economic issues of the large-scale integration of solar and wind power, including the recent advances in transmission technologies

• Discuss worldwide project experiences

• Discuss innovative ideas and present results from ongoing research

• Stimulate interdisciplinary thinking between renewable energy and power transmission and distribution industries, as well as universities

• Identify subjects requiring more research efforts

Organized by

The “Call for Papers 2019” is open. If you would like to present a paper at the conference please upload an abstract of maximum 3,000 characters (free style) between January 15 - March 31, 2019. For details visit our webpage: http://regridintegrationindia.org/


Amita Sharma, Zonal Manager, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited

Ms. Amita Sharma is currently the Zonal Manager in Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL), Delhi. After completing her Post Graduate Diploma Course in Power Engineering from National Power Training Institute (NPTI), Badarpur, she started her career with TPDDL as an Executive in 2003. She has diverse experience, having worked in such areas as Business Development, Demand Side Management (DSM), Meter Management, and Solar Projects. She currently looks after Operations, where her key responsibility is to ensure quality and reliable power is supplied to more than 25,000 registered consumers.

As Head of Group (Demand Side Management & Energy Efficiency Cell), she played a pivotal role in preparing the TPDDL Load Research report to identify potential energy efficiency programs by customer segment. She also was responsible for subsequent development of TPDDL’s DSM roadmap and helped in developing a business plan for various energy efficiency programs like AC/Ceiling Fan replacement. Prior to this, she was a part of the Meter Management Group (MMG) where she oversaw planning and coordination to install modems on 20,000 meters. She has rich experience in the field of advanced metering, meter data downloading and data management and has worked extensively in the Business Development (BD) and Process Groups. In the latter, she was instrumental in preparing the Detailed Project Report for 1 MWp Solar Photovoltaic Project, the first of its kind in TPDDL. Apart from representing TPDDL at various technical platforms, where her team has won the Quality Circle award at regional and national levels, she is actively involved in system improvement through extensive learning. She was a part of a joint study program with E3 (a U.S. - based firm) team, focused on developing a regulatory framework for Distributed Energy Resources (DER). She also has authored a research paper on DSM & EE (energy efficiency) initiatives and facilitated the launch of an energy-efficiency theme-based mobile app named “SAJAG” at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Q1-How did your education and career path lead you to where you are now? What excites you the most about your career so far?Ans: My career in TPDDL has been quite diverse, and I feel really lucky as I got the opportunity to work in various projects in different departments, which were at a nascent stage. After completing my post-graduation diploma, my career in power distribution sector began as an Executive in the Meter Management Group. After that, I was part of the Business Development Group, which undertook multiple solar projects, including preparation of DPR of 1 MWp Solar PV Project. Subsequently, as the head of the group, I oversaw formulation of various Demand Side Management and energy efficiency initiatives. I was fortunate enough to undergo an international training in Berlin, Germany and have received a lot of opportunities to represent TPPDL at energy forums, specifically Quality Circle. However, I think, the major turnaround was when I took on the role of Zonal Manager in Operations. Being a Zonal Manager, it is imperative to ensure reliable power supply around the clock, maximization of revenue, administration of work force and address customer queries. This role has enriched me in various operational and commercial aspects to which I was not exposed before. In terms of managerial positions, I have learned a lot about team dynamics. Altogether, it has been a wonderful journey along with my amazing colleagues and mentors. My family members have been very supportive too.

Q. 2 How can the male-dominated power sector increase the number of women working at all levels, especially in Operations?Ans: Inclusion of women in all verticals is necessary for all-round growth of any sector. Despite being traditionally male-dominated, the power sector provides a challenging yet enriching experience to women employees. Operations, which is primarily the spine of an Electricity Distribution company, poses lots of opportunities and challenges, and inclusion of women in this field still requires more efforts. First of all, women workforce must be encouraged to join Operations right from the beginning and deployed to handle challenging and responsible portfolios. This will not only boost their confidence but will also prepare them to take leadership positions. Mentoring is another great way to build confidence in female employees. Mentors can provide encouragement and advice to them. It also must be ensured that some of the mentors or role models are women. There’s a lot one can learn from women in positions of authority.

Women Leaders in Energy

I believe in the days to come, women will have a very significant role to play everywhere in the power sector -- be it generation, transmission or distribution. As India adds renewable energy, the sector is set to expand in many ways, and women can aim for a larger part overall. Additionally, applying new technologies such as electric vehicles will require a more specialized workforce. Power training institutions should encourage young women engineers to become specialists in these fields to help transform India’s power sector.

Power companies also should put female-friendly policies in place, such as more flexible working hours, the ability to work from home, and sabbaticals for higher education. Such policies will help increase the number of women working in the power sector. I feel we are moving in the right direction to improving female employee representation in TPDDL and I believe better policies and practices will speed up women inclusion in the power sector.


USAID/India Renewable Integration and Sustainable Energy (RISE) InitiativeDeloitte Consulting India Project503-504, Fifth Floor, DLF Place Mall Office Block, Saket, New Delhi - 110017Tel: +91-11-4045-0737/38www.gtg-india.com

Bhoopinder Singh BaliEmail: [email protected]

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CONTACTMonali Zeya HazraSenior Clean Energy SpecialistUSAID/IndiaEmail: [email protected]

Shubhranshu PatnaikChief of PartyUSAID GTG-RISE InitiativeEmail: [email protected]

Disclaimer This Newsletter is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this newsletter are the sole responsibility of Deloitte Consulting LLP., and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. This newsletter is prepared under Contract Number AID-386-TO-17-00001.

Documents

Greening the Grid (GTG) Newsletter Vol 4, Aug 2018 - Feb, 2019 - Greening the Grid (GTG) Newsletter Renewable Integration and Sustainable Energy (RISE) Initiative under Greening the