CEA Organises International Conference on AI-Enabled Power Sector

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) had organised a two-day international conference-cum-exhibition, ‘Making Indian Power Sector AI Enabled’ in New Delhi on their 53rd Foundation Day. The event with FICCI as programme partner and CBIP as support partner,  brought together policymakers, regulators, utilities, industry leaders, academia and technology experts to discuss how AI can be used across India’s power sector.

Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, while addressing the valedictory session, said, “The success of AI in the power sector will be measured by the improvement it delivers on the ground and not by the sophistication of its algorithm.”

He added, “The conference marked a convergence of power system engineering and artificial intelligence.India had achieved 50 percent non-fossil installed capacity in June 2025, five years ahead of its 2030 commitment, and the next challenge is to manage this growing and complex system with greater intelligence. We must move from building a larger power system to building a smarter, more responsive and resilient power system. Innovation must go hand in hand with security, accountability and human oversight,” 

He urged CEA to carry the momentum forward through measurable pilot projects, common technical frameworks and sharing of successful practices, and said India can develop AI applications for its own needs and offer scalable solutions to the world. He remarked, “Technology becomes meaningful only when it improves the lives of the people.”

Jishnu Barua, Chairperson, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), said, “The real test of AI will be the ability to deploy it reliably and responsibly and cautioned against uncritical acceptance of AI outputs because of hallucination and algorithmic bias.” 

He stated that India’s data-centre capacity has grown to nearly 15 GW, and the Ministry of Power estimates that AI, including data centres, could add 26.5 GW of new demand by 2031-32. He stressed data sovereignty and careful planning of the water and energy footprint of data centres.

Chairperson, CEA, Ghanshyam Prasad, thanked all stakeholders and said the two days had brought experts together on a single platform. He recalled the launches made at the inaugural session, including the cross-border electricity trade portal, the distribution-sector digitalisation report and the revised transmission planning criteria. Referring to the youth session, he said its message was clear: “If a boy of Class 12 can do it, he can own a company, he can use AI. Why can’t all of us do it?”

During the session, the Minister launched four documents and tools. The new CEA website, developed in-house, offers site-wide search across thousands of documents and reports, analytical charts on capacity and power supply position and reports organised by functional domain. The India Fly Ash Yearbook 2026 covers 196 thermal power plants producing around 90 percent of the country’s fly ash, and shows ash utilisation rising from 95.95 percent in 2021-22 to 96.34 percent in 2024-25 and 101.32 percent in 2025-26, in support of the national goal of 100 percent sustainable ash utilisation. The Compendium of Central Rules framed under the Electricity Act, 2003 consolidates all rules notified by the Ministry, including amendments up to July 31, 2026, in a single reference, with a soft copy on the CEA website. 

The Automated Monthly Power Market Monitoring Report draws data directly through APIs, so the report can be generated at the click of a button within days of month-end, in customised periods and formats, covering power exchanges, OTC platforms, derivatives and futures.

Earlier in the day, startups showcased their work, and Raul John Aju, Founder & CTO of AIRealm Technologies, urged young people to apply AI at scale. He said AI-based demand prediction, now limited to small pockets, should be extended across India. He called for more employers than employees in India and encouraged students to try ideas and fail faster. He introduced ThinkCraft, a free, gamified app for learning AI, which has nearly 3,000 users, and said the most important skill in the age of AI will be “to be as human as possible.”