The Indian grid is being stress-tested like never before

To keep the lights on, utilities must digitise the "last mile" of the grid, including feeders, distribution transformers, and meters, and pair them with Al that can forecast, identify, and resolve problems before they escalate.

- Saurabh Patawari Managing Partner - National Electrical Equipment Corporation (NEEC)

The Indian grid is being stress-tested like never before. Peaks near 190 GW in 2021 increased to 250 GW in May 2024, reaching 231 GW in May 2025 due to cooler weather, a reminder that demand volatility, not just growth, is the new planning constraint. Keeping the lights on depends on how quickly utilities digitise the “last mile” of the grid, including feeders, distribution transformers, and meters, and pair them with Al that can forecast, identify, and resolve problems before they cascade.

India has made significant investments in this direction. Under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), states have sanctioned more than 203 million (20.33 crore) smart meters, with 24.1 million (2.41 crore) installed as of mid-July 2025. Beyond consumer meters, RDSS also mandates smart metering of feeders and distribution transformers (DTs). These telemetry layers give utilities the high-frequency data that machine-learning models need to predict technical losses, detect tampering, localise outages, and automate restoration. Early rollouts are showing momentum from Nagaland to Gujarat, and the policy signal will be driven by data reliability and financial turnarounds.

Urgency at the transformer level