Lok Sabha Question No. 4425 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-19
Subject: Increase in Power Supply
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Com. Selvaraj V, Shri Subbarayan K

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4425 ANSWERED ON 19.03.2026

## INCREASE IN POWER SUPPLY

4425.  COM. SELVARAJ V:

SHRI SUBBARAYAN K:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the power sector is the backbone of the country's economy and reliable power supply is essential for its growth particularly for building Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities and infrastructure, if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) the details of the steps proposed to be taken by the Government to increase power availability in the country?

## A N S W E R

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

(a) & (b) : Yes. There is adequate availability of power in the country. The present installed generation capacity of the country is 520.51 GW (as on January, 2026).  India has addressed the critical issue of power deficiency by adding 296.388 GW of fresh generation capacity since April, 2014 transforming the country from power deficit to power sufficient.

The  Government  have  taken  the  following  steps  to  increase  the  power availability in the country:

1. Generation and Storage Planning:
2. (i) As per National Electricity Plan (NEP), installed generation capacity in 2031-32 is likely to be 874 GW. With a view to ensure generation capacity remains ahead of projected peak demand, all the States, in consultation with CEA, have prepared their 'Resource Adequacy Plans (RAPs)', which are dynamic 10-year rolling plans and includes power generation as well as power procurement planning.
3. (ii) All  the  States  were  advised  to  initiate  process  for  creating/  contracting generation  capacities;  from  all  generation  sources,  as  per  their  Resource Adequacy Plans.
4. (iii) In order to augment the power generation capacity, the Government of India has initiated following capacity addition programme:
5. (A) The projected thermal (coal and lignite) capacity requirement by the year 2034-35 is estimated at approximately 3,07,000 MW as against the 2,11,855 MW installed capacity as on 31.03.2023. To achieve this target, Ministry of Power has envisaged to set up an additional minimum 97,000 MW coal and lignite based thermal capacity.

Further, to meet this requirement, several initiatives have already been undertaken. Thermal capacities of around 18,160 MW have been commissioned since  April  2023  till  31.01.2026.  In  addition,  38,745  MW  of  thermal  capacity (including  4,845  MW  of  stressed  thermal  power  projects)  is  currently  under construction. The contracts of 22,920 MW have been awarded and are due for construction. Further, 24,020 MW of coal and lignite-based candidate capacity has been identified which is at various stages of planning in the country.

- (B) 12,723.50 MW  of  Hydro  Electric Projects are under construction. Further, 4,274 MW of Hydro Electric Projects are under various stage of planning and targeted to be completed by 2031-32.
- (C) 6,600 MW of Nuclear Capacity is under construction and targeted to be completed by 2029-30. 7,000 MW of Nuclear Capacity is under various stages of planning and approval.
- (D) 1,57,800 MW Renewable Capacity including 67,280 MW of Solar, 6,500 MW of Wind and 60,040 MW Hybrid power is under construction while 48,720 MW of Renewable Capacity including 35,440 MW of Solar and 11,480 MW Hybrid Power is at various stages of planning and targeted to be completed by 2029-30.
- (E) In  energy  storage  systems,  11,620  MW/69,720  MWh  Pumped  Storage Projects (PSPs) are under construction. Further, a total of 6,580 MW/39,480 MWh capacity of Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) are concurred and yet to be taken up  for  construction.  Currently,  9,653.94  MW/  26,729.32  MWh  Battery  Energy Storage  System  (BESS)  capacity  are  under  construction  and  19,797.65  MW/ 61,013.40 MWh BESS capacity are under tendering stage.
2. Transmission  Planning:  Inter  and  Intra-State  Transmission  System  has  been planned  and  implementation  of  the  same  is  taken  up  in  matching  time  frame  of generation capacity addition.  As  per the  National  Electricity Plan, about 1,91,474 ckm of transmission lines and 1,274 GVA of transformation capacity is planned to be added (at 220 kV and above voltage level) during the ten-year period from 2022-23 to 2031-32.

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  Ministry  of  Power  has  issued  guidelines  dated 14.06.2024,  21.03.2025  and  15.12.2025  regarding  the  payment  of  compensation  for Right of Way (RoW) for transmission lines, wherein the land rate has been linked to the prevailing market rate. These guidelines address the key challenges of RoW arising from landowners demanding higher compensation than the rates determined by the State Government.

3. Promotion of Renewable Energy Generation:
2. (i) 100% Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges have been waived for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by 30th June 2025 (with waiver tapering off 25% annually till June 2028), for colocated BESS projects commissioned by June 2028, for Hydro PSP projects where construction work awarded by June 2028, for Green Hydrogen Projects commissioned till December 2030 and for offshore wind projects commissioned till December 2032.
3. (ii) Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar, Wind, Wind-Solar Hybrid and Firm & Dispatchable RE (FDRE) projects have been issued.
4. (iii) Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies (REIAs) are regularly inviting bids for procurement of RE power.
5. (iv) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been permitted up to 100 percent under the automatic route.
6. (v) To  augment  transmission  infrastructure  needed  for  steep  RE  trajectory, transmission plan has been prepared till 2032.
7. (vi) Laying  of  new  intrastate  transmission  lines  and  creating  new  sub-station capacity has been supported under the Green Energy Corridor Scheme for evacuation of renewable power.
8. (vii) Scheme for setting up of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power projects is being  implemented  to  provide  land  and  transmission  to  RE  developers  for installation of RE projects at large scale.
9. (viii) Schemes  such  as  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Urja  Suraksha  evam  Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), PM  Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules, New Solar Power Scheme (for  Tribal  and  PVTG  Habitations/Villages)  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) and Dharti Aabha Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA JGUA), National Green Hydrogen Mission, Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme for Offshore Wind Energy Projects have been launched.
10. (ix) To  encourage  RE  consumption,  Renewable  Purchase  Obligation  (RPO) followed  by  Renewable  Consumption  Obligation  (RCO)  trajectory  has  been notified till 2029-30. The RCO which is applicable to all designated consumers under  the  Energy  Conservation  Act,  2001  will  attract  penalties  on  noncompliance.
11. (x) 'Strategy  for  Establishment  of  Offshore  Wind  Energy  Projects'  has  been issued.
12. (xi) Green  Term  Ahead  Market  (GTAM)  has  been  launched  to  facilitate  sale  of Renewable Energy Power through exchanges.
13. (xii) Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has been launched to achieve the objective of localization of supply chain for solar PV Modules.

*****************