Electricity sector in India

The total installed utility power generation capacity as on 30 November 2020 by sector and type is given below.[40]

Hydroelectric power plants with ≤ 25 MW generation capacity are included in Renewable category (classified as SHP - Small Hydro Project) .

The break up of renewable energy sources (RES) is:

• Solar power (36,910.53 MW)
• Wind power (38,433.55 MW)
• Biomass (10,145.92 MW)
• Small hydro (4,740.47 MW)
• Waste-to-energy (168.64 MW)

The installed captive power generation capacity (above 1 MW capacity) associated with industry-owned plants is 78,000 MW as of 31 March 2020, In fiscal year 2019-20 215,000 GWh was generated.[7][41] Diesel power generation sets of 75,000 MW capacity (excluding sets of size above 1 MW and below 100 kVA) are also installed in the country.[42][43] In addition, there are a large number of diesel generators of capacity less than 100 kVA to cater to emergency power needs during power outages in all sectors.[44]

This is a list of states and territories of India by installed power generation capacity

Other Renewable Energy sources include SHP (Small Hydro Power - hydel plants ≤ 25 MW), Biomass Power, Urban & Industrial waste, Solar and Wind Energy

India's Ministry of Power launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) as one of its flagship programmes in July 2015 with the objective of providing round the clock power to rural areas. The programme focused on reforms in the rural power sector by separating feeder lines for rural households from those for agricultural applications, and strengthening transmission and distribution infrastructure. A previous scheme for rural electrification, Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) was subsumed into the new scheme.[64] As of 28 April 2018, 12 days ahead of the target date, all Indian villages (a total of 597,464 census villages) were electrified.[65]

India has also achieved close to 100% electrification of all rural and urban households. As of 4 January 2019, 211.88 million rural households were provided with electricity, close to 100% of the 212.65 million total rural households.[1] As of 4 January 2019, 42.937 million urban households are provided with electricity, close to 100% of the 42.941 million total urban households.

Electricity Generation from 1985 to 2012

Electricity generation in India from 2009 to 2019 (data source: powermin.nic.in)

Note: Per capita consumption = (gross electricity generation + net import) / mid year population.

(in million tonnes)

India's electricity sector consumes about 72% of the coal produced in the country. For utility power generation, India consumed 622.22 million tons of coal during 2019-20 which is less by 1% compared to 628.94 million tons during 2018-19. However coal imports for utility power generation increased by 12.3% during year 2019-20 at 69.22 million tons from 61.66 million tons during 2018-19.[74] A large part of the Indian coal reserve is similar to Gondwana coal: it is of low calorific value and high ash content, with poor fuel value. On average, Indian coal has a gross calorific value (GCV) of about 4500 Kcal/kg, whereas in Australia, for example, the GCV is about 6500 Kcal/kg .[75] The result is that Indian power plants using India's coal supply consume about 0.7 kg of coal per kWh of power generation, whereas in the United States thermal power plants consume about 0.45 kg of coal per kWh. In 2017, India imported nearly 130 Mtoe (nearly 200 million tons) of steam coal and coking coal, 29% of total consumption, to meet the demand in electricity, cement and steel production.[8][76]

The Centre for Science and Environment has assessed the Indian coal-based power sector as one of the most resource-wasteful and polluting sectors in the world, in part due to the high ash content in India's coal.[77] India's Ministry of Environment and Forests has therefore mandated the use of coals whose ash content has been reduced to 34% (or lower) in power plants in urban, ecologically sensitive and other critically polluted areas. The coal ash reduction industry has grown rapidly in India, with current capacity topping 90 megatonnes.

Before a thermal power plant is approved for construction and commissioning in India it must undergo an extensive review process that includes environmental impact assessment.[78] The Ministry of Environment and Forests has produced a technical guidance manual to help project proposers avoid environmental pollution from thermal power plants.[79] As of 2016, the existing coal-fired power stations in the utility and captive power sectors were estimated to require nearly 12.5 million INR per MW capacity to install pollution control equipment to comply with the latest emission norms set out by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.[80][81][82][83] Most of the coal fired stations have not complied installation of flue gas de-sulphurisation units for reducing the pollution.[84] In April 2020, CPCB declared that over 42,000 MW thermal power plants have outlived their lives.[85] India has also banned imports of pet coke for use as fuel.[86] As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, India is also reducing power generation from coal to control the emission of greenhouse gases.[87]

The state and central power generation companies are permitted by the Government of India to minimize the cost of coal transportation using flexible coal linkage swaps from inefficient plants to efficient plants, and from plants situated far from coal mines to plants close to the pit head, leading to a reduction in the cost of power.[88] Although coal imports for consumption in the utility sector are declining, the overall imports of steam coal are increasing as the local coal production is unable to meet the requirements of coal-fired captive power plants.[89][90]

A super thermal power plant in Rajasthan

India's coal-fired, oil-fired and natural gas-fired thermal power plants are inefficient and replacing them with cheaper renewable technologies offers significant potential for greenhouse gas (CO₂) emission reduction. India's thermal power plants emit 50% to 120% more CO₂ per kWh produced compared to average emissions from their European Union (EU-27) counterparts.[91] The central government plans to retire coal-based plants that are at least 25 years old and contributing excessive pollution, totalling 11,000 MW of capacity.[92] As of 2018 there is no similar retirement plan for the captive power sector. In 2020 Carbon Tracker estimated that phasing out 20 years or more old coal-fired plants and the coal fired plants under construction with electricity sale price exceeding INR 4/kWh with new renewables is more economical as these coal fired plants are imposing heavy financial burden on Discoms.[93]

Some diesel generator plants and gas turbine plants were also decommissioned in 2016.[94]

India has committed to install 275,000 MW renewable energy capacity by 2027.[95] The existing base load coal and gas based power plants need to be flexible enough to accommodate the variable renewable energy. Also ramping up, ramping down, warm start up, hot start up capabilities of existing coal based power stations are critical to accommodate the frequent variations in renewable power generation.[96][97] It is also examined to use the retired coal based electric generators as synchronous condensers for improving the grid inertia when it is dominated by static power generation sources like solar and wind power.[98]

The installed capacity of natural gas-based power plants (including the plants ready to be commissioned with the commencement of natural gas supply) was nearly 26,765 MW at the end of the financial year 2014-15. These plants were operating at overall plant load factor (PLF) of 22% due to a severe shortage of natural gas in the country,[99] and the fact that imported liquid natural gas (LNG) was too expensive for power generation. Many power stations were shut down throughout the year for lack of natural gas supply. The natural gas shortage for power sector alone was nearly 100 million cubic metre per day at standard conditions.[100] The break-even price for switching from imported coal to LNG in electricity generation was estimated to be approximately US$6 per million British thermal units ($20/MWh) (themal energy).[101] The Indian government has taken steps to enhance power generation from gas-based power plants by waiving import duties and taxes.[102][103]

Gasification of Char/Coal

Gasification of coal or lignite or pet coke or biomass produces synthetic natural gas or syngas (also known as coal gas or wood gas) which is a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases.[104] Coal gas can be converted into synthetic natural gas by using the Fischer–Tropsch process at low pressure and high temperature. Coal gas can also be produced by underground coal gasification if the coal deposits are located deep in the ground or it is uneconomical to mine the coal.[105] Synthetic natural gas production technologies promise to dramatically improve India's supply of natural gas.[106] The Dankuni coal complex produces syngas that is piped to industrial users in Calcutta.[107] Many coal-based fertiliser plants can also be economically retrofitted to produce synthetic natural gas. It is estimated that the production cost for syngas could be below US$6 per million British thermal units ($20/MWh).[108][109]

Indira Sagar Dam partially completed in 2008

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and the 810 MW hydroelectric power plant on the Krishna River.

The hydro-electric power plants at Darjeeling and Shivanasamudram were among the first in Asia, and were established in 1898 and 1902 respectively.

India's potential for hydro power has been assessed to be about 125,570 MW at 60% load factor.[113] India is ranked fourth globally by underutilized hydro power potential. The estimated amount of viable hydro power varies with improved technology and the cost of electricity generation from other sources. In addition, there is an estimated 6,740 MW of potential for small, mini, and micro-hydro generators, and 56 sites for pumped storage schemes with an aggregate installed capacity of 94,000 MW have been identified.[114][115] In 2020, the power tariff from Solar PV clubbed with pumped storage hydro have fallen below the coal based power plant tariffs in offering base load and peak load power supply.[116]

The installed hydro power capacity as of 31 March 2018 was approximately 45,293 MW, 13.17% of total installed utility capacity at the time.[2] Small, mini, and micro-hydro generators add another 4,486 MW capacity.[2] The share of this sector operated by public companies is 97%.[117] Companies engaged in the development of hydroelectric power in India include the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), Northeast Electric Power Company (NEEPCO), Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL), Tehri Hydro Development Corporation, and NTPC-Hydro.

Pumped storage schemes offer the potential for centralized peak power stations for load management in the electricity grid.[118][119] They also produce secondary /seasonal power at no additional cost when rivers are flooding with excess water. Storing electricity by alternative systems such as batteries, compressed air storage systems, etc. is more costly than electricity production by standby generator. India has already established nearly 4,785 MW pumped storage capacity as part of its installed hydro power plants.[120][121]

Global Horizontal Irradiation in India.[122]

Price history of silicon PV cells (not modules) since 1977. The great thing about solar power is that it is a technology and not a fuel. It is unlimited and the more it is deployed the cheaper it would be.[123] While the more limited fossil fuels are used, the more expensive they become.

The solar energy sector in India offers potentially enormous capacity, though little of this potential has so far been exploited. Solar radiation of about 5,000 trillion kWh per year is incident over India's land mass, with average daily solar power potential of 0.25 kWh/m² of used land area with available commercially proven technologies.[124] As of 31 December 2019, the installed capacity was 33.73 GW, or 2% of utility electricity generation.[69]

Solar power plants require nearly 2.4 hectares (0.024 km²) land per MW capacity, which is similar to coal-fired power plants when life cycle coal mining, consumptive water storage and ash disposal areas are taken into account, and hydropower plants when the submergence area of the water reservoir is included. Solar plants with 1.33 million MW capacity could be installed in India on 1% of its land (32,000 square km). Large tracts of land that is unproductive, barren and devoid of vegetation exist in all parts of India, exceeding 8% of its total area. These are potentially suitable for solar power.[125] It has been estimated that if 32,000 square km of these waste lands were used for solar power generation,2,000 billion kWh of electricity could be produced, twice the total power generated in the year 2013-14. At a price of 4 Rs/kWh, this would result in a land annual productivity/yield of ₹1.0 million (US$14,000) per acre, which compares favorably with many industrial areas and is many times more than the best productive irrigated agriculture lands.[126] Building solar power plants on marginally productive lands offers the potential for solar electricity to replace all of India's fossil fuel energy requirements (natural gas, coal, lignite, nuclear fuels, and crude oil),[127] and could offer per capita energy consumption at par with USA/Japan for the peak population expected during its demographic transition.[128]

The sale price of power generated by solar photovoltaics fell to ₹2.00 (2.8¢ US) per kWh in November 2020 which is lower than any other type of power generation in India.[129][130] In the same year, the levelised tariff in US$ for solar electricity fell to 1.31 cents/kWh, far below the solar PV sale tariff in India.[131] In 2020, the power tariff from Solar PV clubbed with pumped storage hydro or battery storage have fallen below the coal based power plant tariffs in offering base load and peak load power supply.[116]

Canal Solar Power Project in Kadi, Gujarat

Land acquisition is a challenge for solar farm projects in India. Some state governments are exploring innovative ways to address land availability, for example, by deploying solar capacity above irrigation canals.[132] This allows solar energy to be harvested while simultaneously reducing the loss of irrigation water by solar evaporation.[133] The state of Gujarat was first to implement the Canal Solar Power Project, using solar panels on a 19,000 km (12,000 mi) long network of Narmada canals across the state to generate electricity. It was the first such project in India.

Synergy with other types of power generation

A major disadvantage of solar power is that it produces electricity only in daylight, and not during night time or cloudy daytime. This disadvantage can be overcome by installing grid storage, such as pumped-storage hydroelectricity.[134] A proposed large-scale engineering project to interlink Indian rivers envisages coastal reservoirs for harnessing river waters that would also create pumped-storage hydro power capacity for use on daily basis by consuming the surplus solar power available during the day time.[135] Existing and future hydropower stations can also be expanded with additional pumped-storage hydroelectricity units to cater for night time electricity consumption. Most of the groundwater pumping power required can be met directly by solar power during the day time.[136]

Solar thermal power plants with thermal storage are also emerging as cheaper (US 5¢/kWh) and cleaner load following power plants than fossil fuel power plants. They can respond to demand round the clock, and work as base load power plants when there is excess solar energy. A mix of solar thermal and solar photovoltaic plants offers the potential to match load fluctuations without requiring costly battery storage.

Wind farm in Rajasthan.

Wind turbines midst India's agricultural farms.

Wind farms midst paddy fields in India.

Biomass pellet fuel from India

India has the fourth largest installed wind power capacity in the world. The development of wind power in India began in the 1990s in Tamil Nadu and significantly increased in the last decade. As of 31 March 2018, the installed capacity of wind power was 34.05 GW, spread across many states of India.[2][137] The largest wind power generating state is Tamil Nadu, accounting for nearly 23% of installed capacity, followed in decreasing order by Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka.[137][138]

In 2015-16, wind power accounted for 8.5% of India's total installed power capacity, and 2.5% of the country's power output. India aims to install a total 60 GW of wind power capacity by 2022.[139][140] The wind power tariff of around 2.5 INR/kWh is the cheapest of all power generation sources in India.[141]

Biomass is organic matter from living organisms. As a renewable energy source, biomass can either be used directly via combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after converting it to various forms of biofuel using a range of methods which are broadly classified into thermal, chemical, and biochemical methods. Biomass, bagasse, forestry, domestic organic wastes, industrial organic wastes, organic residue from biogas plants, and agricultural residue and waste can all be used as fuel to produce electricity.[142][143] Nearly 750 million tons of biomass that is not edible by cattle is available annually in India.[144][145]

The total use of biomass to produce heat in India was nearly 177 Mtoe in 2013.[146] 20% of households in India use biomass and charcoal for cooking purposes. This traditional use of biomass is being replaced by liquid petroleum gas in rural areas, resulting in increased burning of biomass in fields, This has become a major source of air pollution in nearby towns and cities.[147][144]

Torrefied biomass

Large quantities of imported coal are being used in pulverised coal-fired power stations. Raw biomass cannot be used directly in the pulverised coal mills as it is difficult to grind into fine powder due to caking. However, torrefaction makes it possible for biomass to replace coal.[148] The hot flue gas of existing coal-fired power stations can be used as a heat source for torrefaction, so that biomass can be cofired with coal.[149][150] Surplus agriculture/crop residue biomass is beginning to be used for this purpose.[151][152] Instead of shutting down coal-fired power plants due to concerns over pollution, it has been argued that these units can be retrofitted economically to produce electricity from biomass.[153][154] Biomass power plants can also sell Renewable Energy Certificates, increasing their profitability.[155][156] Cofiring of biomass up to 10% with coal in existing pulverised coal-fired power stations is successfully implemented in India.[157][158]

Biogas

In 2011, India started a new initiative to demonstrate the utility of medium-size mixed feed biogas-fertiliser pilot plants. The government approved 21 projects with an aggregate capacity of 37,016 cubic metres per day, of which 2 projects were successfully commissioned by December 2011.[159] India commissioned a further 158 projects under its Biogas-based Distributed/Grid Power Generation programme, with a total installed capacity of about 2 MW. In 2018, India has set a target of producing 15 million tons of biogas/bio-CNG by installing 5,000 large scale commercial type biogas plants which can produce daily 12.5 tons of bio-CNG by each plant.[160] Rejected organic solids from biogas plants can be used in coal plants after torrefaction.

Biogas is primarily methane, and can also be used to generate protein rich feed for cattle, poultry and fish by growing Methylococcus capsulatus, a bacterium that grows directly on methane. This can be done economically in villages with low requirements for land and water.[161][162][163] The carbon dioxide gas produced as a by-product from these units can be used in cheaper production of algae oil or spirulina from algae cultivation, which may eventually substitute for crude oil.[164][165] Using biogas for protein-rich feed production is also eligible for carbon credits as this sequesters carbon from the atmosphere.[166] There is significant potential to extract useful biomass from breweries, textile mills, fertiliser plants, the paper and pulp industry, solvent extraction units, rice mills, petrochemical plants and other industries.[167]

The government is exploring several ways to use agro waste or biomass in rural areas to improve the rural economy.[168][169] For example biomass gasifier technologies are being explored to produce power from surplus biomass resources such as rice husk, crop stalks, small wood chips and other agro-residues in rural areas. The largest biomass-based power plant in India at Sirohi, Rajasthan has a capacity of 20 MW. During 2011, India installed 25 rice husk based gasifier systems for distributed power generation in 70 remote villages of Bihar, including a total of 1.20 MW in Gujarat and 0.5 MW in Tamil Nadu. In addition, gasifier systems were installed at 60 rice mills in India.[159]

Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. India's geothermal energy installed capacity is experimental, and commercial use is insignificant. According to some estimates, India has 10,600 MW of geothermal energy available.[170] The resource map for India has been grouped into six geothermal provinces:[171]

• Himalayan Province – Tertiary orogenic belt with tertiary magmatism
• Faulted blocks province – the Aravalli range, Naga-Lushi, the west coast regions, and the Narmada-Son lineament.
• Volcanic arc province – the Andaman and Nicobar arc.
• Deep sedimentary basins of Tertiary age such as the Cambay basin.
• Radioactive province – Surajkund, Hazaribagh and Jharkhand.
• Cratonic province – Peninsular India

India has about 340 hot springs spread over the country. Of these, 62 are distributed along the northwest Himalaya, in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. They are found concentrated in a 30-50-km wide thermal band mostly along the river valleys. The Naga-Lusai and West Coast Provinces also manifest a series of thermal springs. The Andaman and Nicobar arc is the only place in India where volcanic activity continues, potentially a good site for geothermal energy. The Cambay geothermal belt is 200 km long and 50 km wide, with Tertiary sediments. Thermal springs have been reported from the belt although they are not of very high temperature or flow levels. High subsurface temperature and thermal fluid have been reported in deep drill wells in depth ranges of 1.7 to 1.9  km during drilling in this area. Steam blowout has also been reported in drill holes in a depth range of 1.5 to 3.4  km. The thermal springs in India's peninsular region are more related to the faults, which allow water to circulate to considerable depths. The circulating water acquires heat from the normal thermal gradient in the area, and can emerge at a high temperature.[171]

In a December 2011 report, India identified six promising geothermal sites for the development of geothermal energy. In decreasing order of potential, these are:

• Tattapani (Chhattisgarh)
• Puga (Jammu & Kashmir)
• Cambay Graben (Gujarat)
• Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh)
• Surajkund (Haryana)
• Chhumathang (Jammu & Kashmir)

Puga was chosen for the first geothermal plant,[172] but as of December 2017 little progress had been made.[173]

Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts energy obtained from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity. Local effects such as shelving, funneling, reflection and resonance can increase the potential of tidal energy in certain regions.

India's potential to harness tidal energy is significant. Energy can be extracted from tides in several ways. In one method, a reservoir is created behind a barrier, or barrage, and tidal waters are allowed to pass through turbines in the barrier to generate electricity. This method requires mean tidal differences greater than 4 metres and favourable topographical conditions to keep installation costs low. The Gulf of Khambhat and the Gulf of Kutch on India's west coast, with maximum tidal ranges of 11 m and 8 m, respectively, and an average tidal range of 6.77 m and 5.23 m, are promising sites for this type of technology. The Ganges Delta in the Sundarbans, West Bengal is another possibility, although it offers significantly less recoverable energy; the maximum tidal range in Sunderbans is approximately 5 m with an average tidal range of 2.97 m. It is estimated that barrage technology could harvest about 8 GW from tidal energy in India, primarily in Gujarat. The barrage approach has several disadvantages, however, one being that a badly engineered barrage can have significant negative effects on migratory fishes, marine ecosystems and aquatic life. Integrated barrage technology plants can also be expensive to build. In December 2011, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India and the Renewable Energy Development Agency of West Bengal jointly approved and agreed to implement India's first 3.75 MW Durgaduani mini tidal power project.[172]

Another tidal wave technology harvests energy from surface waves or from pressure fluctuations below the sea surface. A report from the Ocean Engineering Centre, at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras estimated the annual wave energy potential along the Indian coast is 5 to 15 MW/metre, suggesting a theoretical maximum potential for electricity harvesting along India's 7500-kilometer coastline of about 40 GW.[174] However, the realistic economical potential is likely to be considerably less than this.[174] A significant barrier to surface energy harvesting is that its equipment may interfere with fishing and other sea-bound vessels, particularly in unsettled weather. India built its first surface energy harvesting technology demonstration plant in Vizhinjam, near Thiruvananthapuram.

The third approach to harvesting tidal energy is ocean thermal energy technology. This approach harvests the solar energy trapped in ocean waters. Oceans have a thermal gradient, the surface being much warmer than the deeper levels of the ocean. This thermal gradient may be harvested using the modified Rankine cycle. India's National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has attempted this approach without success. In 2003, NIOT attempted to build and deploy a 1 MW demonstration plant with Saga University of Japan,[175] but mechanical problems prevented success. After initial tests near Kerala, the unit was scheduled for redeployment and further development in the Lakshadweep Islands in 2005.

Bulk power purchasers can buy electricity on a daily basis for short, medium and long term durations from a reverse e-auction facility.[199] The electricity prices transacted by the reverse e-auction facility are far less than the prices agreed under bilateral agreements.[200] The commodity derivative exchange Multi Commodity Exchange has sought permission to offer electricity future markets in India.[201] The Government of India is also planning reverse procurement process in which generators and discoms with surplus power can seek e-bids for power supply for up to a one-year period, to put an end to bilateral contracts and determine the market-based price for electricity.[202]

India's Ministry of Power administers central government-owned companies involved in the generation of electricity in India. These include the National Thermal Power Corporation, the SJVN, the Damodar Valley Corporation, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. The Power Grid Corporation of India is also administered by the Ministry; it is responsible for the inter-state transmission of electricity and the development of the national grid.

The Ministry works with state governments on matters related to state government-owned corporations in India's electricity sector. Examples of state corporations include the Telangana Power Generation Corporation, the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited, the Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, the Kerala State Electricity Board, and Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited.

Borrowings by state owned discoms & commercial losses of discoms

India's Ministry of Power administers the Rural Electrification Corporation Limited and the Power Finance Corporation Limited. These central-government-owned public sector enterprises provide loans and guarantees for public and private electricity sector infrastructure projects in India. Excessive plant construction loans at 75% of overestimated costs on overrated plant capacities have led to stranded assets of US$40 to 60 billion.[203][204] The central and state-owned power generators escaped this crisis as they had entered PPAs with state-owned monopolistic discoms on a cost-plus basis at higher than prevailing market power tariffs, without undergoing competitive bidding process. Many direct and indirect subsidies are given to various sectors.[205]

After the enactment of Electricity Act 2003 budgetary support to the power sector is negligible.[206] Many State Electricity Boards were separated into their component parts after the act came into force, creating separate entities for generating, transmitting and distributing power.[207]

The rapid growth of the electricity sector in India has generated high demand for trained personnel. India is making efforts to expand energy education and to enable existing educational institutions to introduce courses related to energy capacity addition, production, operations and maintenance. This initiative includes conventional and renewable energy.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy announced that State Renewable Energy Agencies are being supported to organise short-term training programmes for installation, operation and maintenance and repair of renewable energy systems in locations where intensive renewable energy programmes are being implemented. Renewable Energy Chairs have been established at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.[159] The Central Training Institute Jabalpur is a training institute for power distribution engineering and management. The NTPC School of Business Noida has initiated an energy-centred two year post-graduate diploma in management program and a one year post-graduate diploma in management (executive) program, to cater to the growing need for management professionals in this area. Education and availability of skilled workers is expected to be a key challenge in India's effort to expand its electricity sector.