The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) convened senior policymakers, distribution companies (DISCOMs), regulators, and energy sector leaders in Kolkata to deliberate on the proposed Energy Transition Hub for the Eastern and Northeastern States (ETHENS) of India. The initiative, supported by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), aims to establish a permanent, DISCOM-driven and demand-led institutional platform to accelerate a balanced and region-specific clean energy transition.

The high-level roundtable focused on designing ETHENS as a structured regional mechanism to help utilities in the Eastern and Northeastern states translate national clean energy ambitions into practical, utility-centric implementation strategies.

India’s power sector is entering a critical transformation phase, guided by targets of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2070. Despite being central to the country’s industrial base and natural resources, the Eastern and Northeastern region continues to face challenges in renewable integration, grid preparedness, storage deployment, financial sustainability, and terrain-sensitive electrification.

Delivering the welcome address, Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI, emphasized the importance of region-specific institutional innovation. She noted that a uniform national template cannot adequately address the diverse constraints faced by different regions, particularly in the East and Northeast.

In his opening remarks, Dipak Dasgupta, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, highlighted that the transition extends beyond renewable capacity addition and pointed to significant financing-backed opportunities in the renewable sector across the region.

Offering special remarks, S. Suresh Kumar, Chairman, DVC, underscored the need for targeted policy support to enable a fair and inclusive clean energy transition. In a special address, Krushna Chandra Panigrahy, Director General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), stressed the importance of improving energy efficiency penetration, describing it as a major opportunity to reduce energy intensity and achieve cost-effective gains.

Delivering the first keynote address, Arup Sarkar, Member (Finance), DVC, highlighted the financial dimensions of the transition and the potential for ETHENS to convert regional challenges into innovation opportunities. Swapnendu Kumar Panda, Member (Technical), DVC, added that inclusive and regionally balanced approaches are integral to India’s national energy transformation.

The second keynote address was delivered by Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner to East and Northeast India, who emphasized the role of UK–India collaboration under the Vision 2035 framework. He cited knowledge exchange initiatives, including an upcoming UK–West Bengal roundtable on energy storage, and highlighted innovation models such as the UK Catapult network as potential reference points for ETHENS.

Concluding the inaugural session, Sivakumar V. Vepakomma, Director – Power Systems at the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), stressed the importance of grid preparedness and phased capacity strengthening to translate ideas into on-ground solutions.

Setting the context, Ashish K. Sharma, Associate Fellow, TERI, outlined the proposed institutional structure of ETHENS as a DISCOM-anchored platform supported by DVC and led by TERI as Knowledge Partner.

Stakeholder discussions, moderated by Alekhya Datta and N. S. Mondal, examined shared regional constraints, including aging thermal assets, storage obligations, grid strengthening needs, challenging terrain in the Northeast, workforce transition pressures, and institutional capacity gaps. Participants emphasized that ETHENS must remain DISCOM-centric, enabling utilities to directly influence research priorities, pilot projects, and work programmes.

Sharing reflections, Debashis Sen, former Chairman and Managing Director of the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation, noted that Eastern and Northeastern India require solutions tailored to local realities, given structural constraints such as higher delivery costs, grid limitations, and legacy coal dependence.

The roundtable concluded with broad consensus on initiating evidence-based studies and pilot interventions in storage integration, grid automation, forecasting tools, decentralized systems, and capacity building.

Delivering the vote of thanks, P. K. Bhattacharya, Director, TERI, stated that ETHENS is envisioned as a timely, region-specific platform recognizing that a one-size-fits-all energy strategy cannot serve the Eastern and Northeastern states.

The deliberations are expected to inform the formalization of ETHENS’ governance structure and its first-year operational roadmap, with participating DISCOMs playing a central role in shaping its priorities.