Draft NEP 2026 Unveiled: India Bets Big on Clean Power, Market Reforms

• The Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2026 targets per capita electricity consumption of 2,000 kWh by 2030 and over 4,000 kWh by 2047, aligning with economic growth and climate commitments.
• It proposes structural reforms for the financially stressed distribution segment, including automatic annual tariff revisions and a shift towards demand charges to reduce cross-subsidisation.
• The policy promotes renewable capacity addition through market mechanisms, captive power plants, and large-scale energy storage deployment, allowing consumers to trade surplus renewable power.
• It supports market-based deployment of battery energy storage systems, domestic manufacturing of components, and incentives like viability gap funding for storage and pumped hydro projects.
• While prioritizing renewables, the draft retains conventional sources, proposing repurposing thermal plants, accelerating hydropower, and scaling nuclear power to 100 GW by 2047.

Why It Matters: India's Draft NEP 2026 aims for ambitious clean energy targets, market reforms, and grid overhaul.