India recorded 68 major disturbances in renewable energy sector complexes between January 2022 and June 2025, with generation losses ranging from 1gigawatt (GW) to 7 GW in individual events, highlighting the growing grid management challenges as renewable energy capacity expands, according to a top government official.
The incidents occurred mainly at the interstate level in renewable energy complexes in Rajasthan and Gujarat and were linked to some generators not meeting low voltage ride through (LVRT) and high voltage ride through (HVRT) requirements, Jishnu Barua, Chairperson, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, said. Enforcement measures have since reduced the frequency and scale of such incidents.
“Between January 2022 and June 2025, we saw 68 grid disturbances in renewable energy complexes, with generation losses ranging from 1,000 MW to 7,000 MW. Most of these incidents occurred in Rajasthan and Gujarat and were linked to non-compliance with LVRT and HVRT requirements,” said Barua, at the 7th CII International Energy Conference, adding that enforcement measures had since reduced the frequency and scale of such incidents.
The growing share of variable renewable generation makes grid management more complex. Solar and wind output can change rapidly depending on weather conditions, creating sudden changes in electricity supply. Barua said this requires higher balancing reserves, more flexible operation of thermal plants and advanced forecasting. Sudden fluctuations in renewable output can also affect system frequency and require intervention to maintain grid security.
The disturbances in Rajasthan and Gujarat had an additional technical cause. Some renewable generators did not comply with LVRT and HVRT requirements, which are intended to help generating units remain connected during voltage disturbances. Barua said enforcement efforts had reduced the frequency and scale of these incidents. He also stressed the need for appropriate technologies such as static synchronous compensators (STATCOM) to prevent such events from affecting the wider power system.
The figures refer to generation losses associated with grid disturbances and do not represent renewable energy curtailment. Curtailment refers to reducing available renewable generation because the electricity cannot be absorbed or evacuated by the power system.
The issue is becoming more important as India rapidly expands renewable energy capacity. The country’s installed generation capacity reached 548 GW as of July 2026, while renewable energy capacity had increased by more than 200 per cent over the past decade. Installed solar capacity stood at 162 GW and wind capacity at 47 GW, Barua said.
Renewable generation is variable and uncertain, requiring power system operators to maintain greater balancing reserves and operate conventional power plants more flexibly.
“Integrating renewable energy into the grid involves additional costs due to the variability and uncertainty inherent in renewable energy generation,” Barua said.
Higher renewable penetration requires greater balancing reserves, more flexible operation of existing thermal plants and advanced forecasting tools, he said. These measures can increase operating costs and affect the efficiency of conventional power plants.
Significant investment is also required in transmission infrastructure and energy storage to facilitate the evacuation and utilisation of renewable power, Barua said. Sudden fluctuations in renewable output can also affect system frequency and require intervention to maintain grid security.
India’s government has been planning transmission infrastructure alongside renewable capacity expansion. Santosh Sarangi, Secretary, Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), said the government had undertaken transmission planning to support the target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.
India’s renewable energy policy framework has included renewable purchase obligations, renewable consumption obligations and an interstate transmission charge waiver for renewable energy. Sarangi said transmission planning had been undertaken at both the state and interstate levels so that the network would be ready to support renewable energy evacuation ahead of 2030.
The transmission buildout is particularly important because renewable resources are concentrated in specific regions, while major electricity demand centres are located elsewhere. The ability to evacuate power therefore becomes as important as adding generation capacity.
Energy storage is another part of the government’s response to the changing power system. Barua said significant investment in energy storage would be needed to facilitate the effective evacuation and utilisation of renewable power. Storage can provide flexibility when renewable generation changes rapidly and can help balance supply and demand across different periods of the day.
The requirement is becoming more pronounced as solar generation increasingly meets daytime electricity demand while conventional generation remains important during evening hours.
Technical standards tightened after grid disturbances
The disturbances identified by CERC have also brought greater attention to the technical requirements for renewable generators.
LVRT and HVRT capabilities allow generating units to remain connected to the grid during specified voltage disturbances rather than disconnecting abruptly. Failure to maintain these capabilities can cause multiple generating units to disconnect during a grid disturbance, potentially worsening the impact on the wider system.
Barua said the enforcement of these requirements had reduced the frequency and scale of the disturbances recorded in renewable energy complexes.
He also stressed the need for appropriate technologies to prevent such events from affecting the wider power system. Among the technologies he referred to were static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs), which can provide rapid voltage support and help improve grid stability.
“We have become wiser with the introduction of HVRT and LVRT requirements,” Barua said, adding that generators should adopt appropriate technologies such as STATCOMs to prevent similar events from affecting the economy.
Grid management is also becoming more complex as renewable capacity increasingly moves beyond large utility-scale projects.
Of the 44.61 GW of new generation capacity added in financial year 2026, 16.3 GW was distributed solar, Barua said. This included 7.6 GW under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) and 8.7 GW of rooftop solar.
The expansion means that the power system will increasingly have to manage millions of distributed resources, including rooftop solar installations, battery energy storage systems, smart meters and demand response programmes.
Barua said the electricity system was gradually evolving into an interconnected ecosystem in which distributed resources would generate, store and exchange electricity in real time.
The grid flexibility requirement is also being driven by rapidly increasing electricity demand.
India’s peak power demand rose from 242.77 GW in June 2025 to 270.8 GW in May 2026, an increase of 11.5 per cent, Barua said.
The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has projected peak demand of 459 GW by 2034 to 2035, while the Global Energy Interconnection projection puts peak demand at 700 GW by 2047.
Barua said India must therefore prepare for a power system that is not only larger but increasingly digital, decentralised, dynamic and data-driven.
Electric vehicles are expected to account for 6 to 9 per cent of national electricity consumption by 2035. Data centres are projected to require around 14 GW of electricity by 2031 to 2032, while another estimate puts potential demand at as much as 30 GW within a few years.
The concentration of new loads in hubs such as Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and the National Capital Region could put additional pressure on local transmission and distribution networks, increasing the need for proactive grid planning and infrastructure augmentation.
The changing power system means that renewable energy expansion can no longer be addressed only through additional generation capacity.
Sarangi said the government’s renewable energy strategy rests on policy support, domestic manufacturing and market creation. Transmission planning, interstate transmission charge waivers and renewable purchase obligations have been among the measures used to create an enabling framework for renewable expansion.
CERC’s approach, meanwhile, points to the need for greater system flexibility, stronger technical compliance, better forecasting, balancing reserves, transmission investment and storage.
Barua said the next phase of India’s energy transition would require regulatory institutions to evolve alongside technology while maintaining reliability, competition and consumer protection.
For the grid, the challenge is increasingly shifting from how quickly India can add renewable capacity to how effectively the system can absorb, transmit, balance and utilise that power without compromising reliability.