Announcements

Conference: Investments for a Sustainable Tamil Nadu: Reforms and Strategies for the Power Sector

Organised by XKDR Forum and TrustBridge.

Given the vast magnitudes of investment required in the energy transition, and given the limitations of Indian public finance, the main path to energy transition investment lies in private investment. Only domestic and foreign private sectors have the scale of resourcing required to terminate contracts with coal-fired plants and build a new world of renewables and storage. This process faces limitations which are collectively bucketed as ‘investability’. One of the most important states in India from the perspective of energy transition is Tamil Nadu. It was one of the first states in India to have achieved almost universal electrification and was also at the forefront of the transition to renewables — both wind and solar — in the country.

In this conference, we present a review of the electricity sector in Tamil Nadu – through a collection of facts and evidence about the sector and the state that can form the basis of policy proposals to improve investability for transition finance.

Program Agenda:

Panel 1 (2:00 – 3:00 PM): Electricity’s Role in Tamil Nadu’s Development Strategy

Presenter: Ajay Shah, XKDR Forum

Panelists: Vikram Kapur IAS (Govt of Tamil Nadu), S Narayan IAS (Retd; Government of India), and Karthik Muralidharan (CEGIS)

Panel 2 (3:00 – 4:00 PM): The Impact of KUSUM-C in Addressing the Political Economy of Distribution

Presenter: Renuka Sane, Trustbridge

Panelists: Anas Rahman (International Institute for Sustainable Development) and Martin Scherfler (Auroville Consulting)

Panel 3 (4:30 – 5:30 PM): Improving Regulation in the Power Sector

Presenter: Akshay Jaitly, Trustbridge

Panelists: Hansika Dhankhar (Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation) and Ann Josey (Prayas Energy Group)

Date: 13th October 2023,
Time: 2:00 – 6:00 PM,
Venue: Dvara Trust (Kerala Meeting Room), 10th Floor-Phase 1, IIT-Madras Research Park, Kanagam Village, Tharamani, Chennai-600113.

The event is in-person and you can register here!