"By adopting non-traditional solutions India could increase access to power for more than 300 million additional people by 2034, with annual per capita consumption of 1,800kW for those connected to the grid.
India will require an additional 455 GW of installed capacity and significant investment in setting up transmission and distribution network to meet the country's power demand by 2034, research firm PwC said.
According to its recent report, titled 'The Future of India: The Winning Leap', there was a need to shift power generation capacity toward non-coal sources and increase use of digital and communication technology to automate information gathering, which can help reduce costs.
"By adopting non-traditional solutions India could increase access to power for more than 300 million additional people by 2034, with annual per capita consumption of 1,800kW for those connected to the grid.
To meet this desired outcome, India would require an additional 455 GW of installed capacity along with significant investments and operational in T&D networks," the research firm said in a statement.
Using traditional sources to achieve these targets would require investments of almost $900 billion over the next two decades, the report said.
"To put things into perspective, India spent only $120 billion of the available $170 billion in the 11th Five Year Plan on power infrastructure. Hence, achieving the winning leap target through traditional means would require current investments to be doubled on an annual basis," it said.
According to PwC, if India shifts its power generation capacity toward non-coal sources, only then it can meet the increased need for power in an environmentally sustainable way.
It further said that the government should encourage private participation in transmission and distribution.
"For improving efficiency in the power system there is a need to encourage private-sector participation in power retail. Utility customers want a better experience, including more pricing options, and private sector companies could satisfy this unmet need. India has historically invested more in power generation than power distribution. If private companies handled more distribution, the entire value chain could be strengthened," it said.
It further suggested that investing and developing capabilities in advanced storage and distributed power could go a long way toward addressing the challenge of rural power distribution in India.
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