Power Ministry Launches India Energy Stack for Digital Grid Reform

• A unified digital platform, India Energy Stack (IES), will modernize and streamline the power sector.
• A 12-month pilot will test the Utility Intelligence Platform with DISCOMs in Mumbai, Gujarat, and Delhi.
• A task force led by Dr. R.S. Sharma and mentored by Nandan Nilekani will oversee development and rollout.

The Ministry of Power has announced a dedicated taskforce to establish the India Energy Stack (IES), a cutting-edge, digital infrastructure for the power sector. The IES seeks to assimilate disconnected systems into one secure and open infrastructure, enabling public accountability and consumer interaction, ultimately resulting in considerable efficiency gains, and hence enery cost savings. 

The initiative has been inspired by the world's largest DPIs, such as Aadhaar, and UPI, and aims to establish different facets of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for electricity ecosystems and is intended to address inherent complexities present owing to widespread use of renewable energy, electric vehicles and active consumer participation.

The IES will provide various level of digital public infrastructure touches and services like, individual identifiers for consumers, participants, assets, transactions, consented real-time data sharing, open APIs for interoperability between systems, and unique digital/virtual services, APIs and tools that empower consumer participation, and enable service innovation.

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The activity was flagged off by Energy Minister Shri Manohar Lal Khattar that stressed the importance of a solid digital infrastructure to manage India's future energy demands. A 12 month Proof of Concept (PoC) will be conducted, including the Utility Intelligence Platform (UIP)- data driven decision support system providing utilities, regulators, and consumers access to real-time information. The PoC will be operational for the DISCOMs in Mumbai, Gujarat and Delhi.

The Task Force is chaired by Dr. Ram Sewak Sharma, with Mr. Nandan Nilekani as Chief Mentor, and supported by Mr. Pradeep Kumar Pujari, and Mr. Pramod Verma as Subject Matter Experts. The Task Force will spend the next year defining the UIP model, releasing a RFP, publishing a white paper, and getting ready for the national rollout.

This deployment is congruent to India's large vision being a $5 trillion economy and Net Zero goal, establishing the IES as the digital backbone supporting a smart and greener power sector.