Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) 2026

The SET 2026 report assesses 21 Indian states on their electricity transition, finding that progress is fragmented and that leadership in one area, such as decarbonisation, does not automatically ensure system-wide readiness. While states like Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh lead in decarbonisation, and Delhi and Haryana excel in power ecosystem readiness, most states face structural gaps in areas like smart metering, energy storage, and DISCOM financial health. The report emphasizes the need for coordinated state-level interventions to align capacity additions with grid readiness and market-enabling policies.

• Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala are the strongest performers in the decarbonisation dimension. Karnataka is noted for a renewable energy share of approximately 37% in its power procurement mix, while Himachal Pradesh recorded the highest renewable share at approximately 65% and the lowest emissions intensity.
• Delhi and Haryana lead in power ecosystem readiness and performance, characterized by high distributed solar adoption and reliable power supply. Delhi's distributed solar capacity reached 304MW as of March 2025, representing nearly 97% of its total solar capacity.
• Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are high performers in market enablers due to regulatory initiatives like green tariffs, green open access, and solar-hour-aligned time-of-day (ToD) tariffs. Andhra Pradesh specifically has 1,440MW of pumped hydro storage capacity operational or under construction.
• Progress in the electricity transition is uneven across states; no single state among the 21 assessed demonstrates consistently strong performance across all three dimensions (decarbonisation, ecosystem readiness, and market enablers).
• Several states are in the early stages of transition, with West Bengal, Telangana, and Jharkhand showing the most scope for improvement. West Bengal's renewable share in procurement was only approximately 7% in FY2024.
• India achieved 50% of its installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by October 2025, meeting its original 2030 target five years early, with total installed renewable capacity reaching 251GW.
• Bihar has shown significant progress in smart meter deployment, achieving 78% progress under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) as of March 2025.
• The report identifies critical gaps in the transition, including the need for improved DISCOM financial health, the adoption of direct benefit transfer (DBT) for subsidies, and the scaling of energy storage to meet a projected national need of 73.9GW by 2031-32.

APA

Shah, R. (2026). Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) 2026. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/02/Indian-States-Electricity-Transition-SET-2026.pdf

Chicago

Shah, Ruchita. Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) 2026. Ember, 2026. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/02/Indian-States-Electricity-Transition-SET-2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Shah |first1=Ruchita |title=Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) 2026 |publisher=Ember |date=2026 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/02/Indian-States-Electricity-Transition-SET-2026.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{shah2026indian, author = {Shah, Ruchita}, title = {{Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) 2026}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2026}, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2026/02/Indian-States-Electricity-Transition-SET-2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }