The Short-Term National Resource Adequacy Plan (ST-NRAP) for 2025-26, has been carried out in compliance to Clause 16.5 of the Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2023, as notified by the Government of India, Ministry of Power (MoP). Additionally, it aligns with Clause 5.3 of the Indian Electricity Grid Code, 2023, as notified by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, and adheres to the MoP guidelines for the resource adequacy planning framework for India. According to these regulations, NLDC is mandated to annually publish a one-year look-ahead Short-term National Resource Adequacy Plan. These studies shall be considered merely as an aid to the distribution licensees in the respective States in their exercise of generation resource adequacy planning and the distribution licensees shall be responsible for all commercial decisions on generation resource procurement.
The ST-NRAP prepared by National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC), provides a comprehensive analysis of India’s generation resource adequacy to meet the projected electricity demand for the fiscal year. This technical report evaluates the capability of the country’s power system to maintain a reliable electricity supply, considering the increasing integration of variable renewable energy sources (VRE) such as wind and solar. The primary objective of the ST-NRAP is to assess the generation resource adequacy to meet the peak and energy requirements for 2025-26. The study aims to assist the States in drawing their optimal generation resource adequacy plan.
The findings emphasise the importance of flexible and dispatchable resources, particularly battery energy storage systems (BESS) and pumped storage plants (PSP), to manage the increasing variability associated with renewable energy sources. The timely commissioning of envisaged units, optimization of planned outages, shifting from high-shortage months to low-shortage months, is identified as a critical strategy to mitigate supply shortfalls. State-wise demand forecasting, improved transmission modeling, and integrated operational planning are necessary to refine future assessments and strengthen grid resilience. The next section explains the suggested interventions in detail.
Access the report here
