India, Jan, 2022: The Indian Chamber of Commerce(ICC), one of the leading national chambers of India, organized the 15th India Energy Summit virtually today in the presence of eminent chief guest Mr. Alok Kumar, IAS – Secretary Ministry of Power, Govt. of India. Panelist members included Mr. Anil Razdan, Summit and Awards Chairman, Former Power Secretary of Govt. of India, Chair ICC expert committee on energy, Mr. Gautam Ray, President HR Power Group, RPSG Group of Companies and Co-Chair for Expert committee on energy at ICC, Mr. Gurpreet Chugh, Managing Director, ICF, Mr. Saurav Kumar Shah, Executive Director of Power Finance Corporation, and others.
Setting the context for the session, Mr. Anil Razdan, Summit and Awards Chairman, Former Power Secretary of Govt. of India, Chair ICC expert committee on energy mentioned about the issues faced by the country and the world regarding energy transition. He also said how adoption of new technology should be the way forward and how industries should come forward and show the path. He mentioned, India has set very ambitious targets for itself in Glasgow which includes net zeroby 2070, 500GW renewable energy by 2030, reducing emissions intensity by 45% and reducing 1 billion Co2 by that time. These can never be achieved without technology, adequate funding, commitment of industry, and the nation. Deployment of funds for research and development sector will also be critical, according to Mr. Razdan.
Mr. Alok Kumar, IAS – Secretary, Ministry of Power, Govt. of India being the chief guest on the platform highlighted on both demand side as well as supply side of energy. To become a developed country from a developing country, per capita energy consumption to be increased. He stated, every household needs to have access to clean, affordable and sustainable energy. He highlighted three areas where phenomenal demand growth were to be expected, the first one being transportation. He spoke of the construction sector next as India is likely to urbanize very rapidly in the next two decades and will see large-scale construction. Huge demand growth for building materials like steel, cement, lighting is expected. The third area in energy growth is the possible shift from traditional biomass cooking to clean cooking. It is important to see that this growth in the energy demand is managed well, and here comes the importance of energy efficiency. Coming to the supply side of energy, he said a successful supply roadmap will depend on technologies available. He touched on most topical technologies like hydrogen, carbon capture and utilization and nuclear energy, being explored.He also said that policy makers need to create markets and regulators should ensure a conducive environment with positive and dynamic regulations.
Mr. Gurpeet Chugh, Managing Director, ICF Consulting India Pvt Ltd, also on the inaugural panel said the coal sector, oil and gas sector, the whole power sector are very critical to India’s growth and this transition requires these sectors to perform constantly. He added, one billion tons of carbon emissions to be reduced by twenty thirty, is a huge target, which would lead to newer projects, like CCUS and even afforestation will play a significant role in reduction of carbon emissions. The data center and IT will become the largest consumers of electricity. Industries, again, a large emitter today, with large requirements of energy, will see significant de-carbonization efforts over a period. He further added that there will be newer sources like hydrogen that are being looked at, and also renewable energy conversion of heat from fossil fuels to electric heat.The government will play a significant role in the transition of energy sector. A new framework in policy is required for implementation of new market designs.
On the same platform, Mr. Gautam Ray, President HR Power Group, RPSG Group of Companies, Co-chair ICC National Expert Committee on Energy highlighted the aspects and importance of energy and technology today. He positioned technology in such a manner that technology management and technology cannot be seen in isolation. He said, today, the whole concept is dispatch based energy delivery and now it is gradually moving towards user choice dispatch.The dispatcher needs to ensure that choice of consumer should be made with fullest of efficiency. The market needs to be optimized and transition management will be a major challenge which needs to be addressed.
Mr. Saurav Kumar Shah, Executive Director of Power Finance Corporation spoke how to ensure that reliable energy is available at an affordable price. He also mentioned, to deliver better value to consumers that have three key elements, one is the strengthening of infrastructure in ways of modernization of technology, the second is people and process orientation and finally, a strong governance mechanism, along with enhanced consumer protection protocols that will encapsulate, and that will safeguard this entire transition in energy sector.
The inaugural session was followed by Plenary session which witnessed insightful discussions from key leaders like Jindal Power, Adani Gas, Tata Steel Mining, NTPC and others. Annual awards will be announced on day 2 of the summit where deserving players will be encouraged in terms of efficiency, technology, distribution etc.
