Intra-State Security Constrained Economic Despatch (SCED) in India - A way Forward

India has a complex federal structure for electricity governance, where both the Central and State Governments have jurisdiction over electricity, making it a Concurrent Subject. India has adopted a decentralized, multilateral, and coordinated scheduling model. States follow a merit order-based scheduling (MoD) system, which prioritizes the least cost approach to meet demand from contracted capacities. Security Constrained Economic Despatch (SCED) at the national level has demonstrated significant efficiencies and economic benefits. It is now the time to start implementation of Intra-State SCED in States that have internal generations that could be optimized for economic benefits. The basic implementation requirements are studied and detailed in this paper with the aim to facilitate the implementation of Intra-State SCED. A simulation study has been carried out taking input from the data available in the MERIT India App to find out the possible savings through the implementation of Intra-State SCED and subsequent integration at the Regional and National level. A brief set of results is presented which shows substantial savings after the integration of States at the Regional and National Level. Overall, this translates to total cost savings of approximately ₹95 to ₹160 lakh per hour during off-peak and peak hours, respectively.