Experts bat for advancing regional electricity cooperation amongst BIMSTEC members
New Delhi, Sep 11
A high-level policy roundtable on Friday highlighted the need for appropriate cross-border infrastructure, policy and regulatory alignment, and political consensus to advance regional electricity cooperation amongst members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation grouping.
The policy discussion on the theme of 'Connecting Power, Enabling Shared Growth: Advancing Regional Electricity Cooperation in BIMSTEC' organised in hybrid mode by Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) - an independent think tank dedicated to shaping policy through rigorous research and thought leadership - focused on moving away from harmonization of grid codes to harmonization of policies and regulation.
BIMSTEC, which approaches its 30th anniversary next year, is a grouping of seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal. Besides India, it includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
The event, organised in association with the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN), brought together experts from the policy, regulatory, industry and academic sectors - including from the Electricity Regulatory Commission, Nepal, Indian Association for Energy Economics, NTPC Ltd, IIT Kanpur, NPTI, ICRIER, CPI Global, Asian Confluence Centre, CEEW, Apraava Energy, CRID, etc.
Researchers from CRF presented preliminary findings from the joint CRF-ESBN study and proposed a BIMSTEC Electricity Cooperation Readiness Index for the discussion in the meeting.
Delivering the keynote address, Sushanta K Chatterjee, Chief (Regulatory Affairs) at India's Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), highlighted the regulatory readiness required to facilitate seamless cross-border electricity flows.
He emphasised the need for a gradual approach to regional market development, including building on existing platforms and arrangements, while noting that political consensus remains essential to translating technical and regulatory solutions into practice.
Welcoming the participants, Debajit Palit, Centre Head for Climate Change and Energy Transition at the CRF, highlighted the potential to build on existing bilateral electricity cooperation and progressively strengthen regional market development.
He noted that while the immediate focus may not be on establishing electron flows among all countries, developing the market architecture and institutional arrangements required for such flows would be an important step forward.
Rupa Chanda, Director of Trade, Investment and Innovation Division at UNESCAP, underlined the significance of energy connectivity as a practical area for regional cooperation. She noted that regional electricity trade can enable countries to share resources and improve system reliability, while emphasising the need to progressively move from existing bilateral arrangements towards greater multilateral electricity connectivity and trade.
Participants emphasised that private-sector participation should extend beyond investment in transmission infrastructure to active engagement with regional electricity market platforms. They also stressed the importance of developing infrastructure incrementally, drawing on existing regional experience, rather than beginning with large and complex transmission systems. Beyond physical connectivity, the discussion highlighted the need to strengthen resilience alongside reliability, particularly given the potential for interconnected systems to support neighbouring countries during climate-induced disasters and other shocks.
Other issues raised at the meeting included the absence of adequate international legal protection for cross-border transmission assets, the importance of capacity building in strengthening trust and regional cooperation, and the need to address business and investment security as well as cross-border mobility of technical experts to facilitate regional projects.
CRF - which focuses its research on core areas of climate change and energy transition; economy and trade, and geopolitics and strategic studies - stated that it will continue to engage with the participants and seek further inputs to strengthen the report and the regional electricity cooperation index emerging from the discussion.
— IANS
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