Smart grid and Indian experience: A review

Abstract

The present lifestyle of the mankind thrives on the consumption of energy thereby making it an inevitable necessity. The increasing population has led to an ever-growing energy demand. Majority of this demand is met through conventional sources which are continually depleting and raising serious environmental concerns. To further prolong the issue, the present power structure of developing countries like is ageing, inefficient and unsustainable. The present electricity grid is unreliable, prone to brownouts and blackouts, has high transmission losses, poor power quality, supplying inadequate electricity, discouraging to integration of distributed energy sources. Mitigation of these issues require the complete overhauling of power delivery structure. Smart Grid, i.e., the modernization of the electric grid is an evolving blend of various technologies intended at bringing a drastic change in the electrical power grid. The constituents of smart grid and its need in the Indian context has been discussed. This work inclusively covers the various enabler schemes and governing bodies formed by the Indian Government for expediting the smart grid deployment. Further, a comprehensive and updated review of Indian smart grid's initiatives and experiences is presented. And based on these experiences, potential barriers have been identified and their solutions are discussed.