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The Ministry of Power told the Rajya Sabha on 3 August 2026 that all-India AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial) losses have fallen from 21.91% in FY21 to 15.04% in FY25, and that distribution utilities in the aggregate posted a profit after tax of ₹2,701 crore in FY25 — the first time since the Electricity Act, 2003 came into force.
Rural power supply availability rose from 12.5 hours a day in FY 2015 to 22.6 hours in FY 2025; urban supply reached 23.6 hours in FY 2025.
Under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, loss-reduction works worth ₹1.53 lakh crore and smart metering worth ₹1.31 lakh crore have been sanctioned, covering 20.33 crore smart meters; 5.73 crore have been installed under the scheme and 7.24 crore across all schemes.
Capacity addition in FY 2025-26 was 9,470 MW fossil-fuel and 55,225 MW non-fossil-fuel, plus 2,668.54 MW / 7,785.6 MWh of battery storage in 2026 and 12,139 circuit km of transmission lines.
The storage roadmap envisages about 47 GW of Battery Energy Storage Systems by 2031-32 under the National Electricity Plan and 100 GW of Pumped Storage Plants between 2025-26 and 2035-36.
Launched by the Government of India in July 2021 to improve the quality, reliability and affordability of power supply through a financially sustainable and operationally efficient distribution sector. It is reforms-based and results-linked — funds are released against agreed performance milestones.
Key: Total outlay of ₹3,03,758 crore over FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26 with estimated Gross Budgetary Support of ₹97,631 crore. Targets pan-India AT&C losses of 12-15% and elimination of the ACS-ARR gap. Sanctions so far: ₹1.53 lakh crore loss-reduction works and ₹1.31 lakh crore smart metering covering 20.33 crore meters, of which 5.73 crore are installed.
Launched in November 2015 as the previous major DISCOM turnaround package — states that owned the DISCOMs took over 75% of their debt as on 30 September 2015 and repaid lenders by issuing bonds.
Key: Targeted AT&C loss reduction to about 15% and elimination of the ACS-ARR gap by 2018-19. It is the scheme RDSS effectively succeeds, which is why the FY21 baseline of 21.91% is the relevant comparison point.
Dedicated transmission infrastructure for evacuating renewable energy. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy extends budgetary support for the intra-State transmission component.
Key: Intra-State GEC Phase-I, approved by the CCEA in 2015, targets 9,700 ckm of lines and 22,600 MVA of substations in eight RE-rich states at a cost of ₹10,141.68 crore (40% MNRE grant of ₹4,056.67 crore, 40% KfW Germany loan, 20% STU equity). Phase-II, approved in January 2022, targets 10,750 ckm and 27,500 MVA across seven states at ₹12,031.33 crore with MNRE assistance of ₹3,970.34 crore.
A Production Linked Incentive scheme of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, approved in May 2021, to build domestic advanced chemistry cell manufacturing capacity.
Key: Outlay of ₹18,100 crore for 50 GWh of ACC capacity, of which 10 GWh is earmarked for Grid Scale Stationary Storage (GSSS) applications.
Central support to make grid-scale battery storage commercially viable at a stage when tariffs alone do not cover costs.
Key: The September 2023 VGF scheme has 13.22 GWh under implementation with ₹3,760 crore allocated; a second scheme approved by the Ministry of Power in June 2025 covers 30 GWh with ₹5,400 crore from the Power System Development Fund.
Issued in September 2023 as a roadmap for deployment, market integration and regulatory facilitation of storage technologies.
Key: Sits alongside the March 2022 Guidelines for Procurement and Utilization of BESS as generation, transmission and distribution assets, and the Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding guidelines for procurement of BESS and pumped storage by distribution licensees.
The technical arm of the Ministry of Power and the body that does comprehensive national planning, including the National Electricity Plan. Constituted under Section 70 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (it had earlier existed under the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948), with its functions and duties set out in Section 73. By an order of 01.08.2025 the Ministry of Power raised the limit for CEA concurrence of hydro generating stations and off-stream open loop and on-stream pumped storage projects from ₹1,000 crore to ₹3,000 crore, and exempted off-stream closed loop PSPs from concurrence altogether. In February 2025 CEA advised co-locating storage of at least 10% of installed solar capacity for a minimum two hours.
The central regulator, referred to in Section 76 of the Electricity Act, 2003. Its General Network Access (GNA) Regulations, 2022 govern transmission access; the Third Amendment allows connectivity to be granted separately for solar and non-solar hours by assessing available margins at RE pooling stations, so the same transmission asset serves more capacity.
Constituted under the Electricity Act, 2003 at the State level. Distribution utilities function under the guidance of their respective SERC and State Government — which is why tariffs, supply quality standards and consumer rules vary across states even under a common central scheme.
Extends budgetary support for intra-State transmission projects under the Green Energy Corridor scheme for renewable energy integration.
Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses combine two very different failures into one number. The technical part is electricity physically lost as heat in lines and transformers. The commercial part is electricity delivered but never paid for — theft, unmetered supply, faulty meters, and billed amounts that are never collected. So AT&C loss is, in effect, the share of energy input that brings in no revenue. Falling from 21.91% in FY21 to 15.04% in FY25 means about seven percentage points more of every unit supplied now gets paid for. Smart metering attacks the commercial half directly, which is why ₹1.31 lakh crore of RDSS sanctions went to metering. The companion metric is the ACS-ARR gap — the difference between the Average Cost of Supply and the Average Revenue Realised per unit; a positive gap means the utility loses money on every unit it sells, however efficiently it delivers it.
Simple Analogy: If a water utility pumps 100 litres and bills for 85, the missing 15 is partly leaks in the pipe (technical) and partly taps nobody pays for (commercial). AT&C loss counts both, because the utility's bank balance cannot tell them apart.
| Aspect | Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) |
|---|---|---|
| How it stores | Electrochemically, in advanced chemistry cells | By pumping water to an upper reservoir and releasing it through turbines |
| Roadmap in the reply | About 47 GW considered for integration by 2031-32 under the National Electricity Plan | 100 GW roadmap prepared for 2025-26 to 2035-36 |
| Central support | VGF: 13.22 GWh with ₹3,760 crore (Sept 2023) and 30 GWh with ₹5,400 crore from PSDF (June 2025) | ISTS charge waiver for projects whose construction was awarded by June 2025, extended to June 2028 |
| Siting | Flexible — can be co-located with a solar plant or placed at a substation | Site-specific; needs suitable topography and water |
| Regulatory change noted | Electricity Rules amended September 2025 to let consumers develop, own, lease or operate storage | CEA concurrence limit raised from ₹1,000 crore to ₹3,000 crore; off-stream closed loop PSPs exempted (order of 01.08.2025) |
Places electricity in the concurrent domain, so both Parliament and State legislatures can legislate on it — the constitutional basis for the split between central planning and state-run distribution described in the reply.
The governing statute. It repealed the Indian Electricity Act, 1910, the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 and the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998; constituted the CEA under Section 70 with its functions in Section 73; and provides for the CERC (Section 76) and the State Commissions. The FY25 aggregate DISCOM profit of ₹2,701 crore is described as the first since this Act came into force.
Allows transmission connectivity to be granted separately for solar and non-solar hours based on available margins at RE pooling stations, improving utilisation of existing transmission assets.
Permits energy storage systems to be developed, owned, leased or operated by consumers, widening the ownership models available for storage.
Framed to ensure prudent supply costs are passed through and that State subsidies to utilities are accounted for and paid on time — the two channels through which distribution finances were historically hollowed out.
9,470 MW of fossil capacity was added in FY 2025-26 against 55,225 MW of non-fossil. Solar and wind are intermittent, so the more of them the grid carries, the more it needs storage, faster-ramping generators (hydro and gas) and dynamic voltage support from STATCOMs and SVCs — all of which the reply lists together for that reason.
States get additional borrowing space of 0.5% of GSDP conditional on power sector reforms, and prudential norms restrict lending to poorly performing state utilities. This is how the Centre exerts pressure on a subject it does not control — distribution is a state function.
Waiving Inter-State Transmission System charges lowers the delivered cost of renewable and storage power. The reply records 100% waiver for BESS commissioned by June 2025 and PSPs awarded by June 2025, with 25% annual reduction thereafter, and an extension to June 2028 for co-located BESS and for PSPs.
Of 20.33 crore meters sanctioned under RDSS, 19.79 crore are consumer meters, 52.53 lakh are distribution transformer meters and 2.05 lakh are feeder meters. Metering at all three levels is what lets a utility locate where energy is disappearing between feeder, transformer and consumer — the diagnostic behind the AT&C fall.
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Power sector reform data appears in Parliament replies every session and AT&C losses are a recurring economy question.
Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses — energy lost in the network plus energy supplied but not billed or not collected; 15.04% in FY25, down from 21.91% in FY21.
The difference between the Average Cost of Supply and the Average Revenue Realised per unit; closing it is a core RDSS objective.
Battery Energy Storage System; 2,668.54 MW / 7,785.6 MWh added during 2026, with ~47 GW planned by 2031-32.
Pumped Storage Plant; a 100 GW roadmap covers 2025-26 to 2035-36.
General Network Access — the CERC's 2022 framework for transmission access; its Third Amendment allows separate connectivity grants for solar and non-solar hours.
Static Synchronous Compensator and Static VAR Compensator — devices deployed to adjust reactive power flow and hold grid voltage stable as renewable share rises.