Meeting of Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Power Held

1. At a Glance

Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting of the Ministry of Power held on 2 June 2026 at Chandigarh, themed on "Grid Stability" [S1].
Reflects the political-administrative response to integrating 50 GW+ renewable capacity in a single year and the engineering challenge of running a Reliable, Flexible and Resilient (RFR) grid [S1].
UPSC relevance: intersects GS-II (Parliamentary committees) and GS-III (Energy security, infrastructure, climate commitments).

Meeting chaired by Union Power Minister Shri Manohar Lal on 2 June 2026 at Chandigarh on the subject of Grid Stability [S1].
Committee appreciated record 50 GW+ renewable capacity integration in a year and steps taken for a reliable, flexible and resilient grid [S1].
Follows the Aug 4, 2025 Consultative Committee meeting on Grid Scale Energy Storage Systems, signalling a sustained policy thread on variable-RE integration [S2].

Consultative Committees of MPs are constituted by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to provide a forum for informal discussion between MPs and the Government on policies and working of Ministries.
Earlier Power Ministry Consultative Committee meetings under Minister Manohar Lal covered Nuclear Power Roadmap (PRID 2124961) and Grid-Scale Energy Storage (4 Aug 2025) [S2][S3].
Grid-stability concern emerged after India crossed ~220 GW installed RE capacity en route to the 500 GW non-fossil target by 2030, with 50 GW annual RE bid trajectory (FY24-FY28) [S4].

Body: Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Power [S1].
Chair: Shri Manohar Lal, Union Minister for Power [S1].
Co-attendee: Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Power [S1].
Venue & Date: Chandigarh, 2 June 2026 [S1].
Subject: Grid Stability [S1].
Institutional participants: Secretary, Ministry of Power; Central Electricity Authority (CEA); Grid Controller of India Limited (Grid-India, erstwhile POSOCO); Central Transmission Utility of India Limited (CTUIL) [S1].
Headline metric flagged: 50 GW+ renewable capacity integrated in a year [S1].
Statutory backdrop: Electricity Act, 2003; CEA constituted under Section 70; Grid-India & CTUIL notified under Sections 26-27 / 38.
Convening authority for Consultative Committees: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Economic — Grid instability risks curtailment of RE, stranded assets, and higher balancing costs; ancillary services market and storage tenders are revenue-side responses.
Scientific / Technological — Stability needs inertia management, FFR (Fast Frequency Response), BESS, pumped hydro, synchronous condensers, FACTS devices, and AI-based load forecasting; tied to Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems policy discussed Aug 2025 [S2].
Environmental — Direct enabler of India's 500 GW non-fossil by 2030 and net-zero by 2070 commitments; absorption of 50 GW/year RE bids depends on grid flexibility [S4].
Legal / Constitutional — Electricity is in Concurrent List (Entry 38); Centre frames grid code via CEA/CERC regulations; State DISCOMs and SLDCs execute.
Administrative / Governance — Consultative Committees provide a non-binding deliberative federal-Parliamentary interface; outcomes feed into Ministry decisions but are not legislatively binding.
Geopolitical / Strategic — Cross-border interconnections (Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka via OSOWOG vision) and cyber-resilience of the grid are emerging strategic concerns.

2 Jun 2026: Consultative Committee on Grid Stability, Chandigarh [S1].
4 Aug 2025: Consultative Committee on Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems chaired by Manohar Lal [S2].
Dec 2025: Discussions on the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 with MPs [S3].
Earlier Consultative Committee meeting on Roadmap for Development of Nuclear Power Generation (PRID 2124961).
Government plan (re-affirmed): bid out 50 GW RE annually FY24–FY28 to hit 500 GW by 2030 [S4].

Consultative Committee meeting on Grid Stability held at Chandigarh on 2 June 2026 [S1].
Chaired by Union Power Minister Manohar Lal; MoS Power Shripad Yesso Naik attended [S1].
Three technical institutions present: CEA, Grid Controller of India Ltd, CTUIL [S1].
Grid Controller of India Limited is the rebranded POSOCO (Power System Operation Corporation).
CTUIL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of POWERGRID designated as Central Transmission Utility.
CEA is a statutory body under Section 70 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
India integrated 50 GW+ renewable capacity in a single year as appreciated by the Committee [S1].
Target: 500 GW non-fossil installed capacity by 2030; annual RE bid quantum 50 GW (FY24–FY28) [S4].
Consultative Committees of Parliament are constituted by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, not by the Ministry concerned.
Electricity falls under Entry 38 of the Concurrent List.
Prior Consultative Committee (4 Aug 2025) discussed Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems [S2].

GS-II: Parliament & State Legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business; Consultative Committees as a deliberative mechanism.
GS-III: Infrastructure—Energy; Environment—climate change commitments.
Possible question stems: 1. "Integrating 50 GW of variable renewable energy annually is as much a grid-engineering challenge as a policy one." Examine. 2. Discuss the role of Parliamentary Consultative Committees in shaping sectoral policy, with reference to the Power sector. 3. Evaluate India's institutional architecture (CEA, Grid-India, CTUIL) for ensuring grid stability amid the energy transition.

Electricity Act, 2003 & Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 — statutory frame for the grid.
Grid-India (erstwhile POSOCO) — real-time grid operator.
National Electricity Plan & Transmission Plan (CEA) — capacity planning backbone.
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) PLI & VGF scheme — flexibility instrument.
Green Energy Open Access Rules, 2022 — RE consumption demand-side.
One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) — cross-border dimension.
PM-KUSUM & Rooftop Solar (Surya Ghar) — distributed RE feeding the grid.
Parliamentary Committees vs Consultative Committees — institutional distinction.

Consultative Committee ≠ Departmentally Related Standing Committee (DRSC). Consultative Committees are convened by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; DRSCs by Parliament.
Grid Controller of India Ltd is not the CTU; CTUIL is the CTU. Grid-India is the National Load Despatch Centre / RLDC operator.
The meeting was held in Chandigarh, not New Delhi — venue is testable.
50 GW+ figure refers to annual RE capacity integration, not cumulative installed capacity.
CEA is a statutory body under the Electricity Act 2003, not under the Constitution.

[S1] Meeting of Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Power Held — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2267971 — (tier 1) (user-supplied excerpt)
[S2] Consultative Committee on Grid Scale Energy Storage Systems, 4 Aug 2025 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2152471 — (tier 1)
[S3] Manohar Lal chairs meeting of Consultative Committee for Ministry of Power — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2206998 — (tier 1)
[S4] Plan to add 50 GW RE annually for 5 years to achieve 500 GW by 2030 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1913789 — (tier 1)