Odisha Highlights Green Power Goals at Eastern Region Energy Ministers’ Conference in Patna

• Deputy Chief Minister Shri K V Singh Deo highlighted the overview of Odisha’s Power Sector.
• Seeks support from Govt. of India for financial assistance and viability gap fundin

Bhubaneswar : A Conference of State Energy Ministers and Energy Secretaries of Eastern Region States and Union Territories was held today in Patna, Bihar, under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Power Minister Shri Manohar Lal. Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Energy, Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, participated in the conference and presented a comprehensive overview of Odisha’s power sector achievements and future roadmap.

Shri Singh Deo reiterated Odisha’s commitment to building a resilient, green, and future-ready power infrastructure. He stated that through strategic investments in renewable energy, robust transmission planning, enhanced cybersecurity, and financial reforms, Odisha aspires to become a model state in energy transformation.

The Deputy Chief Minister noted that Odisha has transitioned from a power-sufficient to a power-empowered state, fully meeting its peak power demand of 6,242 MW. By 2036, 61% of the state’s power portfolio is targeted to be sourced from non-fossil fuel-based generation. Odisha plans to add 11,294 MW of renewable capacity by 2036—including solar, wind, hydro, distributed renewable energy (DRE), and pumped storage—of which 3,904 MW has already been contracted.

To ensure uninterrupted power supply during grid failures, Odisha has implemented grid resilience mechanisms such as Islanding Schemes. By 2030, the state aims to have 225 substations and 20,939 ckm of transmission lines, with a total transformation capacity of 45,369 MVA. Renewable power evacuation corridors are being developed, including key routes like Hirakud–Kolabira–Duburi, Indravati–Theruvali–Gopalpur, and the Theruvali–Jayanagar 400kV LILO at Jayanagar Pooling Station.

Highlighting improvements in power distribution, Shri Singh Deo informed that Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses have been significantly reduced from 29.5% in FY21 to 16.5% in FY25. Three out of four DISCOMs in Odisha have received A+ ratings in the 12th and 13th Annual Rankings of Power Distribution Utilities, placing them among the top ten performing utilities in the country.

The Deputy Chief Minister also sought the support of the Government of India for:

• Sanctioning ₹6,284 crore under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS)
• Central financial assistance for disaster-resilient power infrastructure
• Allocation of 800 MW power from the NLC Talabira Phase-II project to Odisha
• Central funding for green energy corridors and viability gap funding (VGF) for pumped storage projects
• Support for floating solar and offshore wind projects, and a study on tidal energy potential along Odisha’s coastline
• Exemption from the ₹400/ton State Compensation Cess on coal dispatched from the Manoharpur Captive Coal Mine to OPGC
• Relaxation of ash utilization compliance targets by MoEF&CC, and allocation of MCL mine voids for fly-ash backfilling
• Easing of NoC requirements under FRA 2006 for transmission line projects in forest areas

Also present at the conference were Shri Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary, Energy Department; Shri Bhaskar Jyoti Sharma, CMD, OPTCL; and other senior officials.

– Susree Sangita Maharana
Public Relations Officer