Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal on Monday inaugurated the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Regulatory Affairs in the Power Sector at IIT-Delhi, describing it as a key initiative to support informed, forward-looking and evidence-based regulation amid rapid changes in India’s electricity sector.
The Centre has been jointly established by IIT-Delhi, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and Grid Controller of India Ltd. (Grid India). The Power Ministry said the initiative comes at a crucial time, as the power sector faces rising electricity demand, large-scale integration of renewable energy, expanding power markets and increasing use of digital technologies.
Conceived as a national-level hub, the Centre of Excellence will focus on regulatory research, capacity building, advisory support and knowledge dissemination. By locating the Centre within a premier academic institution and anchoring it through close collaboration with the national power regulator and system operator, the initiative aims to bring together policy, regulation, system operations and academic research under a single institutional framework.
Inaugurating the Centre, Lal said that as India moves towards clean energy, competitive markets and consumer-centric reforms, strong regulation backed by research and knowledge is essential. He said the Centre would play an important role in supporting regulatory decision-making that is both informed and future-oriented.
The CoE will work closely with CERC and Grid India to identify key regulatory and sectoral challenges, support human resource development and strengthen institutional capacities. It will undertake cutting-edge research, drawing on global academic and policy networks, and provide advisory and consultancy support to regulators and other power sector stakeholders.
The Ministry said the Centre’s work will directly support policy and regulatory decisions by addressing the power sector trilemma of affordability, sustainability and efficiency. It will help equip regulators and policymakers with robust analytical tools and system-wide models to evaluate regulatory proposals from the perspectives of consumer welfare, system reliability and investment signals. The Centre is also expected to inform power sector reforms as renewable energy becomes mainstream and reshapes system planning, operations and regulatory frameworks.
IIT Delhi Director Prof. Rangan Banerjee said the institute was pleased to partner with CERC and Grid India, adding that the collaboration would help generate knowledge and analysis to make India’s electricity sector sustainable, affordable and future-ready, while also strengthening regulatory institutions and professionals.
CERC Chairman Jishnu Barua said effective regulation must be supported by sound analysis, data and long-term thinking, and noted that the Centre would help deepen regulatory research and strengthen evidence-based policymaking.
Grid India Chairman and Managing Director S C Saxena said regulatory frameworks need to reflect the realities of grid operations, and that the Centre would enable operational experience and system insights to directly inform regulatory research and market design.
Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal also welcomed the initiative, saying the Centre would play a crucial role in the development of the power sector in the country.
The Centre of Excellence will focus on multidisciplinary research areas including power sector regulation, market design, grid operations, energy transition challenges, decarbonisation pathways, digitalisation and emerging technologies such as energy storage, demand response and green hydrogen. The collaboration between IIT-Delhi, CERC and Grid India is expected to contribute significantly to building robust, adaptive and future-ready regulatory frameworks for India’s power sector.
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