Automation of the grid: Indian initiatives

With an ever-growing energy demand coupled with the continual depletion of fossil fuel reserves and environmental effects of conventional power sources, India needs to address the unsustainability of the present power structure. To mitigate these issues and facilitate the integration the information and communication technologies and distributed energy sources, India needs to overhaul its power delivery infrastructure. Smart Grid, i.e., the modernization of the electric grid is an evolving blend of various technologies intended at bringing a drastic change in the electrical power grid. The constituents of smart grid and its need in the Indian context has been discussed. This work inclusively covers the various enabler schemes launched by the Indian Government for expediting the smart grid deployment. Further, a comprehensive and updated review of Indian smart grid's initiatives and experiences is presented. Further potential barriers and solutions for smart grid deployment are discussed. This work accentuates the automation of existing electric grid for generating the sustainable and clean energy.