Fuelling India’s potential

India requires approximately 800 GW of additional power generation capacity by 2040 to support its economic growth goals. While the government is shifting toward attracting private investment, the sector has underperformed the market due to structural issues, particularly high distribution losses and fuel supply gaps. The document recommends improving the financial viability of distribution companies, streamlining coal supply through private sector participation, and simplifying regulations to achieve a target of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022.

• To maintain annual GDP growth of 6% to 7%, India will need nearly 800 GW of additional power generation capacity by 2040.
• India's electricity access rate was 81% in 2013, leaving approximately 240 million people without reliable power, with rural access at 74% and urban access at 96%.
• The power sector's financial viability is severely hindered by distribution losses, which were estimated at 27% in 2014 and are among the highest globally.
• India aims to install 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022, consisting of 100 GW from solar and 60 GW from wind.
• Despite domestic reserves, India must import up to 20% of its coal to satisfy demand, as domestic providers struggle to keep pace with a short-term demand growth of about 9% annually.
• Private sector ownership of installed capacity is increasing, rising from 13% in 2007 to a projected 30%-40% by 2017.

APA

World Economic Forum (2016). Fuelling India’s potential. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_Electricity_India_case_.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Fuelling India’s potential. 2016. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_Electricity_India_case_.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Fuelling India’s potential |date=February 2016 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_Electricity_India_case_.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2016fuelling, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Fuelling India’s potential}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2016}, month = feb, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_Electricity_India_case_.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }