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India to Add 70 GW Power Capacity in FY27, Responsible AI Adoption Critical

India is likely to add over 70 GW of power generation capacity in FY27, while the government is emphasising responsible AI adoption, AI solutions tailored to India’s power sector and the growing electricity needs of data centres. The CEA launched three initiatives covering cross-border power trade, transmission planning and distribution digitalisation.

October 15, 2026. By Mrinmoy Dey

India is likely to add more than 70 GW of power generation capacity in 2026-27, the highest in a single year, Union Minister of Power, and Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal, said. He was addressing the inaugural session of the Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) two-day international conference-cum-exhibition, “Making Indian Power Sector AI-Enabled”, at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi.

The conference is being held on CEA’s 53rd Foundation Day, with FICCI as programme partner and CBIP as support partner. It brings together policymakers, senior officials, regulators, power utilities, industry leaders and technology experts to discuss how AI can be used across India’s power sector.

Speaking virtually, the Power Minister said that the future of a large and complex power system lies not only in producing more electricity but in managing it intelligently. He said that India’s installed capacity has reached about 555 GW, and the country now needs a system that can understand demand in advance, integrate renewable energy and storage better, and give consumers uninterrupted and affordable power.

He called AI both a resource and a solution. According to him, AI can help forecast generation more accurately, manage the grid better, plan maintenance in advance and detect power outages early. He said the sector must move from a reactive system to a predictive and proactive one, with attention to power data security and responsible use of AI.

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi, also speaking virtually, said that India has over 305 GW of non-fossil capacity, close to 55 percent of its total installed capacity of 554.5 GW. He said that the key question is how intelligently India can integrate, transmit, dispatch and consume clean energy.

AI, Joshi said, can improve renewable forecasting, support real-time grid balancing, optimise storage, reduce curtailment and help find congestion in the network. “AI can help us convert data into intelligence, intelligence into timely decisions and decisions into better outcomes,” he said. He added that human oversight and accountability must stay central to critical grid operations, and that India should build AI for Indian conditions and take it to other emerging economies.

Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shripad Yesso Naik, said that India reached 50 percent non-fossil installed capacity in June 2025, more than five years ahead of its 2030 NDC timeline. As of September 30, 2026, non-fossil capacity had crossed 308 GW, including over 171 GW of solar and 59 GW of wind. Peak demand touched 256 GW in April 2026 and 270 GW in July 2026.

He further added that India is no longer just building a bigger power system but a more complex one, and AI can help manage it. “Technology becomes meaningful only when it improves the life of our people,” he said, adding that AI must be reliable, explainable and secure.

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and Electronics & IT, Jitin Prasada, said that the growth of AI, semiconductors and data centres depends on matching growth in power, especially green power. He said that India should make power as easy to access for AI as UPI made digital payments. He also informed that the government is bringing a policy for data centres and wants hyperscale investment without consumers paying more for electricity. He also spoke about skilling young people and avoiding supply chain choke points in power equipment and chips.

Secretary, Ministry of Power, Pankaj Agarwal, said that AI in the grid will need real-time action, with response times in milliseconds or less. He said that India can offer renewable-rich regions for data centres. He urged the sector to scale up pilot projects into sustainable business cases. He added that a data governance committee will include industry representatives along with government offices.

Additional Secretary, MNRE, Mayank Tiwari, remarked that energy security is a core part of national security, and that India must balance the growth of green and conventional sources. He welcomed the conference’s ten focused tracks, designed to produce actionable outcomes, and CEA’s in-house team of 54 engineers working across ten areas of AI.

CEA Chairperson, Ghanshyam Prasad, said that the sector’s challenge has changed from keeping the lights on to managing where power comes from, where it flows and when it is needed. He traced India’s journey from 13 GW at Independence to a single national grid. He said the sector’s plans, standards and regulations are the runway, and AI is the aircraft that needs it. He said that CEA has set up a dedicated team of 54 officers on AI, and that the sector must build AI capability within its institutions and not only buy solutions.

Secretary General, FICCI, Anant Swarup, said that India has shown it can build power infrastructure at scale and the next step is to make it intelligent. He said that an AI-enabled power sector needs quality data, interoperable platforms, strong cybersecurity, skilled manpower and close cooperation between government, utilities, industry and technology providers.

During the session, CEA launched three documents and tools. Vidyut Dwar is an online portal for cross-border electricity trade, where CEA is the designated authority for approving imports and exports with neighbouring countries. It brings the full application process onto one platform, letting applicants submit documents online, track status and access approvals, and it makes the process paperless, faster and more transparent.

The dignitaries also unveiled the CEA Manual on Transmission Planning Criteria 2026, which covers capacity expansion, reliability, renewable energy integration, new technologies and better use of transmission corridors, including planning criteria for right-of-way challenges.

The third launch was the Unified Framework for Digitalisation of the Distribution Sector, which gives power distribution companies a common direction to adopt digital technologies in a phased, need-based and outcome-oriented way.