Authoredby: Rajesh Kaushal, Energy Infrastructure & Industrial Solutions (EIS) Business Group Head, India & SAARC, Delta Electronics India
For decades, the electricity grid operated on a simple principle: power had to be generated at the exact moment it was consumed. Coal plants, gas turbines, and hydro stations were dispatched to follow demand, and the grid was built around predictability and centralised control.
That principle is now being fundamentally rewritten.
As renewable energy becomes central to India’s power system, variability has entered the equation at an unprecedented scale. Solar and wind generation do not follow traditional load curves, and their growing share is changing how grids must be designed and operated. In this new reality, energy storage, particularly Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), is moving from being a supporting technology to becoming a core grid asset.
We are entering the next phase of energy storage, where batteries no longer sit on the sidelines but actively work with the grid.
From Backup to Backbone
In its early years, energy storage in India was largely viewed as backup power, used during outages or in niche, isolated applications. That perception is changing rapidly.
Today, batteries are expected to play a much broader role:
- Smoothing renewable variability
- Managing peak demand
- Deferring transmission upgrades
- Providing frequency and voltage support
- Enabling faster and more resilient grids
According to projections from the Central Electricity Authority, India will require over 82 GWh of total energy storage by 2026–27, with BESS contributing nearly 35 GWh, rising to 411 GWh total by 2031–32, with batteries accounting for over 236 GWh.
These are not incremental additions. They signal a structural shift in how the power system will be planned, operated, and stabilised.
When Policy Meets Scale
A key indicator of this transition is policy clarity and rapidly declining costs.
Recent tariff-based competitive bidding shows that the cost of BESS has plummeted from around ₹10.18 per kWh to approximately ₹2.1 per kWh, assuming two daily cycles. Based on market trends and utilisation patterns, the cost at 1.5 cycles per day is expected to be around ₹2.8 per kWh. This aligns closely with average solar tariffs, making storage increasingly competitive.
India’s policy framework supports this transition:
- Viability Gap Funding schemes supporting 13,220 MWh of BESS capacity with ₹3,760 crore, and an additional 30 GWh with ₹5,400 crore support through the Power System Development Fund.
- Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges waiver for co-located BESS projects for 12 years and graded waivers for non-co-located projects.
- The PLI “National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage” aims to establish 50 GWh of domestic Advanced Chemistry Cell manufacturing capacity, including 10 GWh for grid-scale applications to reduce import dependency and future costs.
These mechanisms are accelerating adoption and enhancing affordability, shifting storage from pilot projects to mainstream system planning.
Storage Enters Grid Planning
Perhaps the clearest indicator of maturity is how storage is now treated in national planning.
Nearly 47 GW of BESS capacity has already been considered in India’s transmission planning horizon up to 2032. This is a profound change. Batteries are no longer “add-ons” installed after the grid is built. They are being planned alongside transmission lines, substations, and renewable corridors.
This integration unlocks new possibilities:
- Managing congestion without building new lines
- Firming renewable power at the point of injection
- Providing local grid support closer to demand centres
In effect, storage becomes a flexible, digital asset embedded within the physical grid.
When Batteries Start Talking to the Grid
The next phase of energy storage is not defined by chemistry alone. It is defined by intelligence.
A battery that simply charges and discharges on a timer is useful. A battery that communicates with the grid in real time is transformative.
Advanced power electronics, grid-forming inverters, and intelligent control systems allow BESS to:
- Respond instantly to frequency deviations
- Stabilise weak grids with high renewable penetration
- Coordinate with solar and wind plants to deliver dispatchable power
- Support black start and islanding operations
This is where energy storage stops being passive infrastructure and starts behaving like an active grid participant.
At Delta, our energy infrastructure approach is built around this convergence, where power electronics, automation, and digital control come together. Batteries are no longer isolated assets. They operate as part of a wider ecosystem that includes inverters, energy management systems, EV charging infrastructure, and grid interfaces.
Beyond Utilities: Storage Touches Everyday Life
While much of the discussion around BESS focuses on utilities and large-scale projects, the impact of grid-integrated storage is far broader.
For industries, it means improved power quality and reduced exposure to peak tariffs.
For cities, it means greater resilience during extreme weather events.
For renewable developers, it means predictable revenues and bankable projects.
For consumers, it ultimately means a cleaner, more reliable power supply.
Energy storage is becoming an invisible enabler, rarely noticed when it works well, but critical to system reliability when it is absent.
India’s Unique Opportunity
India’s energy transition is happening at a scale and speed few countries have attempted. Peak demand continues to rise, renewable capacity is expanding rapidly, and electrification is accelerating across transport, industry, and households.
This creates a unique opportunity. Instead of retrofitting storage into an aging grid, India can design a future-ready system where renewables, batteries, and digital infrastructure are integrated from the outset.
But success will depend on how well technology, policy, and execution align:
- Clear market signals for ancillary services
- Standards for grid-forming and hybrid systems
- Long-term visibility for manufacturers and developers
- Skill development for operating a more complex, digital grid
A Grid That Thinks, Responds, and Adapts
The next phase of energy storage is not only about adding battery capacity. It is about how the grid itself is designed and operated.
Future power systems will need to sense conditions in real time, respond quickly to changes in demand and supply, and adapt to increasing variability from renewable sources. When batteries are fully integrated into grid operations, they can support frequency regulation, peak management, and network stability more effectively than standalone assets.
India has already begun moving in this direction. Energy storage is being considered within transmission planning, renewable integration strategies, and market mechanisms. The focus now shifts from adoption to optimisation: how efficiently storage can be deployed, controlled, and scaled to deliver maximum system value.
In the years ahead, the grid’s role will extend beyond power delivery. It will increasingly manage energy flows dynamically, with storage playing a central role in enabling reliability, flexibility, and long-term sustainability.
