Distribution efficiency on the path to sustainability

India

Dwijadas Basak, CEO of Tata Power Delhi Distribution, talks to The Energy Year about pioneering smart meters in India and preparing for future electricity consumption patterns through investments in renewables, energy storage and e-mobility infrastructure.

Tata Power Delhi Distribution supplies electricity in the North Delhi and North West Delhi districts.

• As the number of prosumers connected to India’s grid is expected to grow considerably, utilities are upgrading to distributed energy resource management systems to manage decentralised power sources and storage.
• Tata Power-DDL has cut power losses in the North Delhi and North West Delhi networks from 53% in 2002 to 5.5% today with advances such as GIS mapping, automated demand response pilots and India’s first smart meters.
• In India, government-mandated Renewable Purchase Obligations require certain entities to procure 43.33% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Tata Power-DDL currently sources 30% of its power from hydro, wind and solar.

Could you provide an overview of the evolution of Tata Power Delhi Distribution since the formation of the company?
Our transformation has been profound. When Tata Power Delhi Distribution (Tata Power-DDL) took over the distribution network in North Delhi and North West Delhi from the erstwhile state electricity board in 2002, the system was deeply flawed. There were long power cuts, low customer satisfaction and, most critically, energy losses as high as 53%. Today, that figure is down to 5.54% – a drastic improvement that speaks volumes about what we have achieved.
Reducing losses was the top priority, as it was essential for our financial viability and for maintaining reasonable tariffs, but we also championed innovation from day one. We pioneered smart meters in India, advocating for supportive government policies and implementing the country’s first ADR [automated demand response] pilot in 2015.
Our journey included two 10-year automation roadmaps, guided by global firms such as testing and certification specialist KEMA and Quanta Consulting. Over time, we introduced GIS [geographic information system] mapping, unmanned our grids, implemented outage management systems and integrated smart technologies into the entire value chain.

Where is Tata Power-DDL heading next?
Our next phase focuses on renewables. Today, about 30% of our power procurement is already through clean sources, with hydro leading the mix, followed by solar and wind. We are aligned with government targets for rooftop solar adoption under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana scheme. More than 8,000 rooftops have been solarised, and the plan is to scale that to 50,000 by the end of 2027.
As consumers become prosumers, we are building infrastructure for them to sell surplus power. After a successful peer-to-peer (P2P) pilot, we are working with regulators to shape policy and trading frameworks. In addition, we are involved in experimental initiatives such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies in collaboration with the India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) and BSES, where EVs [electric vehicles] can supply power back to the grid.
We support Tata Power’s EV business by rolling out charging infrastructure. In our licence area in Delhi, we have allocated 36 sites and helped install more than 3,500 EV connections and 15 battery swapping stations at substations by players such as SUN Mobility. Rooftop solar doesn’t directly support our business financially, but EVs do, so we are very keen on the segment as a growth lever.

How are you preparing to accommodate the next wave of smart energy technologies?
We are upgrading our advanced distribution management system (ADMS), which is more than six years old. The refresh will ensure compatibility with the distributed energy resource management system (DERMS), enabling us to manage services beyond the meter and integrate more renewables.
This upgrade is crucial for handling energy settlements and managing complexity in a prosumer-driven grid. DERMS will give us visibility and control over decentralised resources such as rooftop solar, EVs and energy storage systems, which is something a traditional ADMS cannot do.

What are your targets for renewables and energy storage?
Tata Power-DDL is aligned with the government’s net-zero emissions target and is committed to achieving the mandated 43.33% Renewable Purchase Obligations by fiscal year 2029/30. To support this objective, the energy portfolio has been structured to ensure regulatory compliance and to achieve about 49% renewable capacity. Various renewables tenders are being issued to meet the required capacity in line with this roadmap.
We were a first mover in battery energy storage systems (BESS) with our 10-MW pilot in 2019, and we plan to scale to 100 MW shortly, aiming to reach approximately 500 MW of capacity with up to 1 GWh of storage by 2030.
Importantly, DERC [Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission] has mandated that 4% of our energy must be sourced through BESS by 2030 – up from 2.5% today. Meeting the 2.5% requirement requires us to invest in at least 100 MW of storage capacity

How do you source the technology and funding for these developments?
Tata Power-DDL operates under a regulated framework, so our capital expenditures are subject to approval by the DERC, which helps to ensure that tariffs remain fair. Typically, our projects are funded with a 30-70 ratio of equity to debt. We invest on a project-by-project basis and are not currently looking for outside investors, but we do scout tech partners on a continuous basis, especially for pilots. For instance, our partners in our V2G and P2P projects emerged from collaborative work with ISGF. When pilots succeed, partners typically scale with us.

What are your top three objectives for the next two years?
First, we aim to rank among the global top three in the Smart Grid Index, a benchmark maintained by Singapore’s SP Group. Currently, we are the only Indian company in the top 25.
Second, we want to elevate our network reliability and match global benchmarks. This means faster fault detection, more accurate predictive maintenance and greater resilience – all powered by automation and AI.
Third, we want to be among India’s top three companies in employee satisfaction and customer trust. A great workplace leads to better service and innovation. That is a core belief for us.

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