New Delhi: A centre of excellence for regulatory affairs in the power sector was launched at IIT Delhi on Monday.The centre, jointly established by IIT Delhi, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and Grid Controller of India Ltd (Grid India), is a step towards strengthening India’s regulatory capacity in a rapidly evolving power sector characterised by growing electricity demand, large-scale renewable energy integration, expanding power markets and increasing use of digital technologies.Inaugurating the centre, Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, “As India moves towards clean energy, competitive markets and consumer-centric reforms, strong regulation backed by knowledge and research becomes essential. This centre will play a key role in supporting informed regulation”.Khattar also said that the Electricity Amendment Bill, which seeks to bring reforms in the power sector and ensure the profitability of debt-ridden power distribution companies, is likely to be introduced in the upcoming Budget session of Parliament.The centre is envisaged as a national-level hub for regulatory research, capacity building, advisory support and knowledge dissemination. Through the collaboration, the initiative brings together policy, regulation, system operations and academic research in a single institutional framework. “The institute is keen to create new knowledge and analysis that will enable our electricity sector to be sustainable, affordable and future ready,” Rangan Banerjee, director, IIT Delhi, said.Addressing the inaugural event at IIT Delhi, Jishnu Barua, chairman, CERC, said that centre will help deepen regulatory research and strengthen evidence-based policymaking in the power sector. S C Saxena, chairman and managing director, Grid India, added that through this centre, operational experience and system insights will directly inform regulatory research and market design.
