India: Renewables

The Electricity Act, 2003, vests tariff determination authority exclusively in State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), while the Central Government retains policy-making power at the central level which provides benefit to both i.e., state and central power utilities. This includes the authority to design financial incentives aimed at promoting specific generation technologies.

India’s infrastructure story has long been associated with ambition, mega highways, renewable energy parks, airports, logistics corridors, smart cities, data centres and urban transformation projects. Over the last two decades, billions of dollars have flowed into the sector from banks, institutional lenders, sovereign wealth funds, infrastructure funds and global investors eager to participate in India’s growth trajectory.

India’s green hydrogen sector is no longer being discussed as a futuristic climate ambition. It is rapidly becoming one of the most commercially significant infrastructure and energy transition opportunities in the country. As governments and industries worldwide intensify decarbonisation efforts, green hydrogen is emerging as a strategic solution for sectors where electrification alone cannot achieve net-zero objectives.

This comprehensive legal update examines critical regulatory developments and judicial decisions shaping India's electricity sector, including landmark Supreme Court rulings on deemed distribution licensee status, APTEL judgments on tariff determination and captive power arrangements, and significant commission orders addressing renewable energy procurement, change in law compensation, and transmission charge disputes.

The global imperative to combat climate change has catalysed the development of robust market-based mechanisms for carbon emissions reduction, and India has progressively aligned itself with this international...

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India ("MNRE") on February 25, 2026 issued the draft guidelines for quantifying greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions from offsite water drawal and treatment, for stakeholder comments until March 13, 20262. These guidelines inter alia provide for benchmark emission factors along with a mechanism for allocation/ determination of emissions during water treatment systems in order to ensure compliance with the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India3 and alignment with ISO 19870:2023.

India’s move towards a clean energy future has resulted in the development of innovative market instruments that will help facilitate the growth of renewable energy while meeting obligations imposed on obligated entities.

The Ministry of Power notified the Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2026 vide G.S.R. 186(E) published in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary), Part II - Section 3(i) on 13 March 2026.

TNERC through its order dated 06.03.2026 in the matter of Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited v. Tata Power Company Limited...