New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) Power Minister Manohar Lal on Sunday said artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-based applications will play a pivotal role in building an intelligent, consumer-centric and self-optimizing power distribution network.
The minister was addressing participants at a two-day national conference focused on the use of AI/ML technology in the electricity distribution sector held here on Sunday, the power ministry said in a statement.
He pointed out that AI/ML-based solutions, smart meter analytics, digital twins, predictive maintenance, theft detection intelligence, appliance-level consumer insights, automatic outage prediction, and GenAI-based decision support can transform both consumer experience and operational efficiency.
Mr. Lal praised the active participation of industry, states, innovators, academia and technology partners in the national conference.
He appreciated the AI/ML solutions offered by power distribution companies (Discoms), Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Providers (AMISPs), Technology Solution Providers (TSPs) and Home Automation Solution Providers (HASPs).
The minister urged all discoms to work closely with stakeholders to move towards a smart, reliable and consumer-focused distribution system, adding that there is a need to actively engage consumers.
It is important to eliminate misinformation surrounding new technologies and gain valuable consumer support for technology adoption in this area.
Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal, speaking at the conference, highlighted the ministry's efforts to enhance digitization across discoms and accelerate adoption of AI/ML-based solutions that will bring measurable operational and financial improvements.
He emphasized the importance of capacity building, secure data sharing frameworks, and interoperability to enable the innovations introduced during the conference to be scaled up nationally and accelerate the nation's energy transition.
The conference called for innovation nationwide and received 195 applications.
After detailed evaluation, the winners were TNPDCL (Tamil Nadu) and MP East (MP) in the Discom category, Tata Power and Apraava in the AMISP category, Pravah and Flock Energy in the Solution Provider category, and Tata Power in the Home Automation Solutions category.
The winners were congratulated by the Minister of Power and encouraged to scale up such solutions across the state.
Lal will also launch STELLAR (Strategic Enhancement for Long-Term Load Justification and Resilience), developed by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), to enable discoms to conduct resource optimization studies and develop long-term optimization plans.
