Tata Power-DDL, IFC Collaborate to Assess Battery Storage Demand

The motive behind the move is to ensure sustainable and reliable power distribution and to formulate a business model for storage deployment in distribution utilities.

Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (Tata Power-DDL), a distribution arm of Tata Power, has entered into an agreement with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to assess storage capacity requirement in it’s area.

The motive behind the move is to ensure sustainable and reliable power distribution and to formulate a business model for storage deployment in distribution utilities.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Tata Power-DDL, CEO, Sanjay Banga and Vikram Kumar, manager-infrastructure and natural resources, IFC Asia Pacific.

During the next eight months, the two entities will jointly conduct this first-of-its-kind study in South Asia to examine and recommend the optimum storage capacity that can be implemented for Tata Power-DDL’s 2 GW distribution system.

Based on the results, an assessment will be made of the storage potential in other smart cities.

Commenting on the deal, Tata Power-DDL, CEO, Sanjay Banga said, “Today, battery storage has become a crucial part of electricity grid for adoption of renewable energy sources and to meet the ever-increasing demand. The association with IFC will help us in leveraging storage optimally and further strengthening our network performance to provide quality power supply to our consumers.”

“Power is a key ingredient of economic growth in India and will become even more crucial with the changing supply and consumption patterns. Our focus on storage is aligned with the government’s priorities and IFC’s own strategy to plug critical development gaps,” said Vikram Kumar, manager, infrastructure and natural resources for IFC Asia Pacific.

As per the MoU-signed, both the organisations will share the findings of the project with all stakeholders, including policymakers and regulatory authorities.

The distribution company said that, optimizing storage and peak load management will benefit it’s 1.7 million consumers.

It will also reduce it’s cost by enabling it to buy cheaper power during off-peak hours and distributing it when the demand is higher.