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Combining renewable energies like wind, solar, biomass and small hydro resources, India is using only 7 per cent of it. The cumulative renewable power installed capacity in December 2017 was 62.8 GW while in March 2018, it reached 69.5 GW.

In order to overcome the increase in coal and rail freight prices, the state regulator has given a nod to the PSPCL to increase its Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) surcharge. For domestic consumers, the per unit cost of power in the state is expected to rise to Rs 5.06 to 7.33 a unit which is the highest amongst all the northern states.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) is going against the state government policy of promoting solar power by proposing to levy a surcharge of Rs 1.25 per unit on solar rooftop prosumers.

BEST will be replacing 0.3million electricity metre of low-end residential consumers and 0.1million high-end users with hi-tech smart metres with an estimated cost of Rs 2.38 billion.

Under the Renewable Energy Services Company (RESCO) mode, the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam has invited bids for rooftop solar projects with 33 MW capacity.

Growth in storage solutions like batteries will facilitate 50 per cent of the global electricity supply from wind and solar by 2050,' predicts Shantanu Jaiswal, Head of India Research, Bloomberg NEF and one of the authors of New Energy Outlook (NEO) 2018 report.

Sanjeev K Ahuja, Head, Marketing, Su-Kam Power Systems emphasises the need for a strong storage industry to sustain the rapid growth in the country's renewable energy space.

Even as Eastman Auto & Power is promoting its tubular gel battery as a homemade cost-effective solution for the AGM VRLA and Li-ion batteries, Saurabh Srivastava, President, Marketing and Product Strategy predicts that the new policies and ongoing investments could turn the country into a leading global energy technology hub.