Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal recently said India’s power sector is poised for enormous growth, driven by the country’s expanding economy. Addressing the inaugural session of Electricity Distribution Industry Conference EDICON 2026, the minister underlined that a thriving power sector requires strong, financially empowered distribution companies (DISCOMs) to deliver improved services and respond better to consumer needs.

The two-day conference was organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Power in collaboration with the All India Discoms Association.

The minister urged State Electricity Regulatory Commissions to move towards cost-reflective tariffs, while ensuring targeted subsidies for needy consumers in line with provisions of the Electricity Act.

During the event, he unveiled AIDA’s first annual report titled India Discoms: 2025, presenting an outlook of the distribution sector, ongoing efforts to enhance reliability and operational efficiency, key challenges, and initiatives by the Ministry of Power and CERC, including elements of the Draft Electricity Amendment Bill and the India Energy Stack. The report also features articles by eminent power sector experts and a summary of AIDA’s activities during 2025.

Gold and Silver awards were conferred on 12 DISCOMs across six categories, recognising achievements in rural revenue recovery, smart meter data usage, digital payment adoption, renewable energy integration, agricultural feeder solarisation, and effective change management for consumer services. DISCOMs from Gujarat, Odisha, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal were among the awardees.

Senior officials including Pankaj Agarwal, Lokesh Chandra, Ashish Kumar Goel and Alok Kumar were present on the occasion.