Gujarat tops NITI Aayog’s State Energy and Climate Index-Round 1

Gujarat has topped the Niti Aayog’s State Energy and Climate Index-Round 1 (SECI) among larger states, which is aimed at ranking states and Union territories (UTs) on six parameters including discoms’ performance, energy efficiency and clean energy initiatives.

With reference to clean energy, particularly solar energy, Gujarat is racing to become number one with a huge increase in capacity addition in recent months. As of January 31, 2022, the state’s total renewable capacity was 15,518 MW. Gujarat is the topmost state in total rooftop solar installations. Of the total 6,405 MW of rooftop capacity in the country, it accounted for 1,679 MW. Aiding its massive push is the core of India’s manufacturing base in solar that is coming up in the state.

Gujarat was followed by Kerala and Punjab, according to the government think tank’s report. States like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand were placed at the bottom.

Among the smaller states, Goa topped the Aayog’s index, followed by Tripura and Manipur. The state government has recently notified the Goa EV Concessional Charging Infrastructure Policy 2021, paving the way for EV charging stations across the state. It will also boost sales of electric vehicles.

Revenue generated will be shared with the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) on a 50:50 basis. Of the GEDA charges, 20% will be shared with the land-owning agency while the remaining 80% will go into the Goa Decarbonisation Fund.

The State Energy and Climate Index (SECI) Round-1 ranks states and UTs on six parameters — discoms’ performance; access affordability and reliability of energy; clean energy initiatives; energy efficiency; environmental sustainability; and new initiatives.

These parameters include a total of 27 indicators. Based on the outcome of SECI Round-1 scores, states and union territories have been categorised into three groups — front runners, achievers, and aspirants.

The index can be used by the states and UTs to benchmark their performance against their peers, analyse the potential challenges to develop better policy mechanisms, and efficiently manage their energy resources.