India takes major step towards creation of regional power grid

20 Apr 2021 CW Team

In a major stride towards creating a robust regional power grid, the country’s largest power trading platform, the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), commenced the Cross Border Electricity Trade (CBET) on Monday.

As per the CEA and CERC, as of date, India imports 8.7 BU of electricity from Bhutan and exports 2.37 BU and 7 BU to Nepal and Bangladesh, respectively. The power trade with these countries is expected to increase to about 40 BU by FY2022 and 70 BU to FY2027 according to a study by the New Delhi-based think tank, Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe).

This maiden initiative will help energy exchanges based here progressively extend their reach beyond the country’s territorial boundaries to not only countries of South Asia but also a large market like Myanmar in the South East Asia region under the evolving grid.

Although CBET rollout was anticipated in 2020 itself, it took some time to iron out certain procedural challenges, official sources told CW’s group publication Infrastructure Today.

SN Goel, Chairman & Managing Director, IEX; Mohit Bhargava, CEO, NVVN & Executive Director Renewable Energy, NTPC; and Pankaj Batra, Project Director, SARI/EI/IRADe, weigh in with insights and plans based on the initiative.

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