Summary - Battery Energy Storage Systems For Utilites 2026

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) provide multifaceted advantages to transmission and distribution (T&D) utilities, apart from their role as backup power solutions, including demand-supply balancing, deferral of costly infrastructure investments, seamless renewable integration and delivery of critical ancillary services such as frequency and voltage regulation, black starts, and operating reserves. BESS has thus emerged as a pivotal technology for utilities, driven by the urgent need of maintaining grid stability amidst the accelerating integration of variable renewable energy sources.
Government support through dedicated viability gap funding (VGF) schemes, waivers on interstate transmission charges, competitive bidding guidelines and energy storage mandates is accelerating the expansion of India’s BESS market. Declining costs and rising domestic production of batteries are supporting this rapid uptake. Central and state agencies have further reinforced this trajectory by issuing successive tenders across the country.
According to the Central Electricity Authority’s National Generation Adequacy Plan, India’s energy storage requirement is projected at 174 GW by 2035-36, with 80 GW of BESS. The country already has a healthy pipeline of BESS projects with T&D utilities focusing on standalone storage, renewables plus storage, and firm and dispatchable renewables to cater to the growing need for reliability and power demand management - considering the increasing penetration of decentralised, complex, intermittent and inter-connected power generation and consumption points.
Despite these advances, the sector continues to grapple with challenges such as supply chain issues and regulatory uncertainties. Addressing these issues will require time and iterative learning from early projects. Nevertheless, BESS are set to become a cornerstone of future T&D networks, as the country transitions towards a cleaner, more distributed and resilient power sector.
This conference on Battery Energy Storage Systems for Utilities will provide a platform to policymakers, regulators, transmission utilities, distribution utilities, project developers, battery manufacturers, technology providers, EPC contractors and service providers, financiers, and consultants to exchange experiences and learnings. The discussions during this one-day conference will delve into the key growth trends and market outlook, the policy and regulatory landscape, cost economics and tariffs, upcoming projects, and the challenges and outlook for BESS in India’s T&D sector.