The story

A neutral table, laid in 1994.

India opened generation to private capital in 1991. Three years later the producers, the regulators who would follow and the policymakers who needed both met at one table. This is the record, year by year, with the sector’s own milestones alongside.

  • 1994–98Private power
    Counter-guarantees, competitive bidding versus MOUs, liquid fuel policy, project finance, captive power.
  • 1999–2002Reform
    Mega power policy and trading; SEB reform round tables in four cities; the privatisation of distribution.
  • 2003–05Open access
    Section 42(2) and the consumer’s option; power-exchange design; transmission bidding; surcharges and “pan-caking”.
  • 2004Rural, bottom-up
    If each Gram Panchayat built 0.5 MW, India would add 125,000 MW — presented at Vigyan Bhawan, 5 November.
  • 2006Energy security
    Geopolitics, a 50,000 MW nuclear addition, coal and gas pricing; could the UI power pool create competition?
  • 2008–10Convergence
    Regulatory convergence across power, telecom, oil & gas and aviation; carbon credits; public good versus private profit.
  • 2011–16Competition & renewables
    Ancillary services, hydro purchase obligations, the merchant market, a SAARC grid, carriage and content in the 2014 Bill.
  • 2025–26The transition
    GNA, resource adequacy, storage, market coupling, electricity derivatives, AI and cybersecurity, the Draft Bill 2025.

Year by year.

Left, IPPAI. Right, the sector. Each year links to its own page.

  1. 1991
    Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 amended, 15 October: private generation recognised.
  2. 1992
    Two-part tariff and 16% return on equity notified for private thermal projects.
  3. 1993
    Dabhol Power Company PPA signed, December.
  4. 1994
    IPPAI established. India Power ’94, New Delhi, addressed by Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao.
    Installed capacity of public utilities: 76,718 MW (31 March).
  5. 1995
    India Power ’95; The State of Indian Power 1994–95, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Power.
    Mega power policy for plants of 1,000 MW or more, 10 November.
  6. 1996
    India Power ’96 “Beyond Dabhol”; Captive Power conference; India Power Legal Summit.
    Common Minimum National Action Plan for Power, December: central and state regulators.
  7. 1998
    India Power ’98, Energy & Infrastructure Summit, addressed by Chandra Shekhar.
    Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act; CERC constituted, July.
  8. 1999
    Power Trading Corporation of India incorporated.
  9. 2000
    CERC introduces Availability Based Tariff, 4 January.
  10. 2001
    South Asia Power & Energy Summit.
    Energy Conservation Act, 29 September; BEE set up March 2002.
  11. 2002
    Regulation in Energy Markets; SEB reform round tables in four cities.
  12. 2003
    First Regulators’ Retreat, Goa Marriott, 19–21 September.
    Electricity Act 2003 in force, 10 June: generation delicensed, open access, trading licensed.
  13. 2004
    Panchayati Raj energy initiative at Vigyan Bhawan, 5 November; Power Storm III & IV; India Energy Mart.
    CERC Open Access (Inter-State Transmission) Regulations.
  14. 2005
    5th Retreat, Rambagh Palace, Jaipur; One Year After Open Access.
    National Electricity Policy, 12 February; Section 63 bidding guidelines; RGGVY launched.
  15. 2006
    IEM — Energy Security for the Nation; RE Retreat, Goa; Indian Electricity Market Design.
    Tariff Policy, 6 January; Ultra Mega Power Projects put to tariff-based bidding.
  16. 2008
    9th Retreat, pan-Asian; Legal & Tax Summit begins.
    Indian Energy Exchange begins operations, 27 June; PXIL follows in October.
  17. 2009
    10th Retreat; Washington conference; Wind & Biomass seminar.
  18. 2010
    11th Retreat and the first Master Class for Energy Regulators; FERC dialogue, Washington.
    National Solar Mission launched, 11 January; CERC Power Market Regulations; REC mechanism.
  19. 2011
    1st Asia Energy Security Summit, Colombo; 12th Retreat; Powering Bihar; Competition in Distribution, Odisha.
    First Renewable Energy Certificate trades, March.
  20. 2012
    2nd Summit, Colombo; Powering Jharkhand, Ranchi; 13th Retreat; the Power Awards begin.
    Northern and Eastern grid disturbances, 30–31 July.
  21. 2013
    3rd Summit, Bangkok; first conference on ancillary services, 10–11 April; SAARC seminar; Promoting Hydro Power.
    Southern grid synchronised, 31 December: one national grid.
  22. 2014
    4th Summit, Colombo; SAARC workshop, Kathmandu; 15th Retreat; Economic Impact of Judicial Decisions.
    Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014 introduced, 19 December.
  23. 2015
    Amendment Bill workshops in four cities; 5th Summit, Kathmandu; Powering Vidarbha, Andhra, Telangana; 16th Retreat; Kolkata.
    Solar target raised to 100,000 MW by 2022, 17 June; UDAY approved, 5 November.
  24. 2016
    6th Summit, Goa; Powering Cambodia; the first IRPRI courses at Belgundi; 17th Retreat, The Lalit Goa, where Nitin Gadkari released Powering India in 2017 and Beyond; Power Play on ET NOW, 52 episodes.
  25. 2017
    Asia–Middle East Energy Security Summit, Belgundi; cyber-security workshops with the CEA and NCIIPC at SRPC, WRPC and NRPC; power conclaves in Chennai, Kolkata and Chandigarh; 18th Retreat, Belgundi.
    Saubhagya launched, October; all willing households reported electrified by March 2019.
  26. 2018
    Conferences in Mumbai, Lucknow and Hyderabad; 19th Retreat and Power Awards, Belgundi, November.
  27. 2019–24
    The Retreat continues, 20th to 24th editions, with the Power Awards each year.
  28. 2020
    Real-Time Market goes live on the exchanges, 1 June.
  29. 2021
    500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030 announced at COP26; 40% non-fossil reached in November.
  30. 2022
    Green Energy Open Access Rules, June; GNA Regulations; Bill 2022 introduced; POSOCO becomes Grid-India.
  31. 2025
    25th Retreat; derivatives workshops in Delhi and Mumbai; ten IRPRI batches; Draft Bill workshop at the CEA, 6 November.
    Electricity futures begin trading on MCX (10 July) and NSE (14 July); Draft Bill 2025 released, 9 October.
  32. 2026
    26th Retreat and Power Awards, Belagavi, 7–10 January; Legal & Regulatory Summit; Future of Power Systems, 16 September.
    Record peak demand met, 256.1 GW, 25 April; installed capacity 554,544 MW, 53.8% private, 31 August.

Five Prime Ministers

Heads of government at the table.

Shri Rajiv Gandhi

Shri Rajiv Gandhi

Prime Minister, 1984–89

Support, participation and guidance to IPPAI’s conferences.

Shri Chandra Shekhar

Shri Chandra Shekhar

Prime Minister, 1990–91

Addressed India Power ’98, the Energy & Infrastructure Summit, New Delhi.

Shri P V Narasimha Rao

Shri P V Narasimha Rao

Prime Minister, 1991–96

Keynote address, India Power ’94, New Delhi. “Leave the private sector to freely invest in infrastructure and make profit.”

“It is not the business of the private sector to invest in social sectors … leave the private sector to freely invest in infrastructure and make profit.”

Shri H D Deve Gowda

Shri H D Deve Gowda

Prime Minister, 1996–97

Support, participation and guidance to IPPAI’s conferences.

Dr Manmohan Singh

Dr Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister, 2004–14

Support, participation and guidance to IPPAI’s conferences.

From the archive

Inside the room.

Asia Energy Security Summit 2012. The table across Asia: Track 2 diplomacy with delegates from over seventeen countries.
Asia Energy Security Summit 2012. The table across Asia: Track 2 diplomacy with delegates from over seventeen countries.
3rd Asia Energy Security Summit, Bangkok, 2013.
3rd Asia Energy Security Summit, Bangkok, 2013.
Hon. G. J. L. Neomal Perera, Deputy Minister of External Affairs, Sri Lanka, and H.E. Y K Sinha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka. Asia Energy Security Summit 2014, Colombo.
Hon. G. J. L. Neomal Perera, Deputy Minister of External Affairs, Sri Lanka, and H.E. Y K Sinha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka. Asia Energy Security Summit 2014, Colombo.
Delhi Workshop on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2014, India Habitat Centre, February 2015. R N Prasher, V S Verma, H L Bajaj, V K Garg, Ravinder.
Delhi Workshop on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2014, India Habitat Centre, February 2015. R N Prasher, V S Verma, H L Bajaj, V K Garg, Ravinder.
Dr Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, at an IPPAI conference.
Dr Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, at an IPPAI conference.
SAARC Workshop on Cross Border Power Trade, Kathmandu, June 2014. Delegates from India and Nepal at the table.
SAARC Workshop on Cross Border Power Trade, Kathmandu, June 2014. Delegates from India and Nepal at the table.
Minister of External Affairs Shri Salman Khurshid with G. Parthasarthy, High Commissioner of India, and Harry Dhaul, AESS 2013.
Minister of External Affairs Shri Salman Khurshid with G. Parthasarthy, High Commissioner of India, and Harry Dhaul, AESS 2013.
Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs, delivers the inaugural address, Asia Energy Security Summit 2013. On the dais: Maroof Raza, G. Parthasarthy, Harry Dhaul.
Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs, delivers the inaugural address, Asia Energy Security Summit 2013. On the dais: Maroof Raza, G. Parthasarthy, Harry Dhaul.
Meera Shankar, Ambassador of India to the USA; Prof. S L Rao, Chairman, CERC; Dinesh Trivedi, Railway Minister of India. Regulators & Policymakers Retreat.
Meera Shankar, Ambassador of India to the USA; Prof. S L Rao, Chairman, CERC; Dinesh Trivedi, Railway Minister of India. Regulators & Policymakers Retreat.
Chief Minister of Jharkhand Shri Arjun Munda lights the lamp, Powering Jharkhand, Ranchi, April 2012.
Chief Minister of Jharkhand Shri Arjun Munda lights the lamp, Powering Jharkhand, Ranchi, April 2012.
Chief Minister of Bihar Shri Nitish Kumar at IPPAI’s Powering Bihar, Patna, 2011.
Chief Minister of Bihar Shri Nitish Kumar at IPPAI’s Powering Bihar, Patna, 2011.
Regulators & Policymakers Retreat 2011. S R Mehra, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat; Talmiz Ahmad, Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia; G. Parthasarathy, former High Commissioner of India; Patrick Mercer, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom.
Regulators & Policymakers Retreat 2011. S R Mehra, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat; Talmiz Ahmad, Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia; G. Parthasarathy, former High Commissioner of India; Patrick Mercer, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom.
Regulators & Policymakers Retreat 2014. Pradyut Bordoloi, Power Minister, Assam; Suhel Seth, Managing Partner, Counselage India; Dileep Padgaonkar, former Managing Editor, The Times of India; Dinesh Trivedi, Member of Parliament.
Regulators & Policymakers Retreat 2014. Pradyut Bordoloi, Power Minister, Assam; Suhel Seth, Managing Partner, Counselage India; Dileep Padgaonkar, former Managing Editor, The Times of India; Dinesh Trivedi, Member of Parliament.
SAARC seminar on cross-border power trade, 2013.
SAARC seminar on cross-border power trade, 2013.
Power Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia delivers the inaugural address, Ancillary Services conference, New Delhi, April 2013 — the first of its kind in India. At the table: V P Raja, Chairman, MERC; Devendra Chaudhry, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power; Harry Dhaul, Director General, IPPAI; Dr Pramod Deo, Chairman, CERC; Ajoy Mehta, Managing Director, MSEDCL.
Power Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia delivers the inaugural address, Ancillary Services conference, New Delhi, April 2013 — the first of its kind in India. At the table: V P Raja, Chairman, MERC; Devendra Chaudhry, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power; Harry Dhaul, Director General, IPPAI; Dr Pramod Deo, Chairman, CERC; Ajoy Mehta, Managing Director, MSEDCL.

Influence

What IPPAI put to Government.

  • 2003The first Retreat closes with a round table designed to produce “concrete and comprehensive suggestions” for Government, as a concept paper.
  • 5 Nov 2004Creating 100,000 Sustainable Electricity Utilities, presented at Vigyan Bhawan: 0.5 MW per Gram Panchayat, 125,000 MW in all.
  • 13 Mar 2013Letter to R V Shahi, Convenor of the Advisory Group sub-committee on the Electricity Act and Tariff Policy: separate carriage from content.
  • 25 Aug 2013Five suggestions from the Ministry of Power’s Sub-Group on Power Transmission, convened by Harry Dhaul, including a National Power Beltway and GNA.
  • 27 Nov 2013Letter to the Minister of State for Power (I/C) on the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act 2003.
  • 2013–14Hydro Purchase Obligations and a peaking-power policy; from the SAARC seminar, the recommendation of a SAARC Grid.
  • 2015Thirty points for Budget 2015–16 from a consultation chaired by Prof S L Rao.
  • Feb–Mar 2015Workshops on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2014 in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore, compiled for the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy.
  • 6 Nov 2025Workshop on the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 at the Central Electricity Authority.