IPPAI’s 18thRegulators & Policymakers Retreat 2017 in Belgundi village

It will be held from Oct.26 to 29

by Vijaykumar Patil

The Independent Power Producers Association of India (IPPAI ) will be holding its ‘18^thRegulators & Policymakers Retreat 2017’ to debate on the out-of-the-box ideas and thoughts about “Reaching the Unreached” and deliberate on current scenario and emerging challenges in the country’s power sector.

The is an annual initiative of the IPPAI (India’s oldest power forum). It is an interactive platform where thought leaders and experts from the regulatory, policy, industry, financial and consumer arenas in the power and allied sectors converge to deliberate on current issues and challenges, the implications for the future and the strategies that can be adopted to address them.

The Retreat will be held for the first time in the rural setting of Belgundi, a village 10 km from Belagavi city from 26^th to 29^th this month. The location is apt to deliberate on the theme: “Reaching the unreached” – Challenges of integrating the 800 million underserviced rural consumers into the 24×7 urban grid: Meeting India’s aspirations for development through energy security”, which will explore existing and future challenges in the Indian power sector and the economy, and the strategies that can be adopted to address them.

This year, IPPAI is preparing a unique model for discussion called “Townhall” where it invites participants to discuss, debate, deliberate and present out-of-the-box thoughts and ideas about solutions to the problems and challenges that India faces as it moves from command to market economy, on the one hand, and the role of the private sector versus the State as the State withdraws from key areas of infrastructure, on the other.

One of the key highlights of the Retreat is the IPPAI Power Awards where it will celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of the avant-garde thinkers along with outstanding achievers in the power sector. The IPPAI Power Awards 2017 will also be held during this event, states an IPPAI press release issued on Tuesday.

Further, it states that the IPPAI is holding the Townhall debate for all up ion issues concerning the Indian power sector and its impact on the economy. This is an opportunity for participants to discuss, debate and deliberate in the typical ‘Argumentative Indian’ style and come out with Out-of-the-Box ideas to explore the way forward.

Over the years, RPR has received support and participation from senior members in theMinistry of Power, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, central and state electricity regulatory commissions, transmission and distribution companies, power exchanges, industry, Indian and International thought leaders in energy, besides stakeholders in the sector. 

The key topics slated for deliberations during the conference include:

• How do we meet the challenges of integrating 800 million underserviced rural consumers into the 24×7 power grid that serves 400 million urban consumers?

• Public Good vs Private Profit – Are we ready for competition? Do we have a level playing field?

• Need for regulations & policies to support roll out of E-Mobility, Concerns of private investors and project developers

• Renewable Energy: issues and challenges

• Internet of Things (IoT) – interconnecting digital utilities, infrastructures, services and technologies

• What is the status of India’s cyber security policies and regulations – issues and way forward?

Some of the confirmed speakers:

• Arvind Singh, Principal Secretary (Energy), Government of Maharashtra

• Kulamani Biswal, Director Finance, NTPC Ltd.

• R. Preman Dinaraj, Chairman, Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission

• Justice BG Kolse Patil, Fmr. Judge Bombay High Court

• Prof. David Newberry, Research Fellow, Imperial College London & Emeritus Professor, University of Cambridge

• Sajan Poovayya, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court, Karnataka High Court

• Gopal Saxena, Advisor, BRPL & BYPL

• John Cronin, Executive Chairman, CyanCannode Pvt. Ltd.

• Ajoy Rajani, Senior Executive Vice President, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.

• Sanjay Sahay, Assistant Director General, Karnataka Police Bengaluru

• Lokesh Garg, Director, National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection

• Prof. Sebastian Morris, Professor, IIM – Ahmedabad

• Satyajit Ganguly, MD, ONGC Tripura Power Co. Ltd.