About 70% of India’s current energy mix comprises of coal, and the increase in generation from renewable (RE) sources is affecting the health of the power system. We investigated this effect through the lens of asset utilisation, cost and the social disruption caused by accelerating RE into the Indian Power System. Our review-driven analysis revealed that increasing RE generation is pushing the coal plants to operate in low-loading conditions, causing heightened wear and tear of the plant as they are not suitable for flexible operation. The novel analysis of social disruption due to market parity between RE and coal-based generation presented a holistic view of the political economy of Indian Power System. We found that transition from coal to RE may have extended socio-political ramifications that can potentially disrupt the national economy at an unprecedented scale. Policy implications outlined by our study for the draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 include scoping a socio-technical framework which supports just energy transition through better financial support mechanisms for flexible operation of coal plants. Focusing on clean-up over shut-down of coal plants and facilitating investments in battery storage technologies and cross-border electricity trade as RE and conventional fuel reach market parity.

印度目前约70％的能源结构包括煤炭，可再生（RE）来源的发电量增加正在影响电力系统的健康。我们通过资产利用，成本和可再生能源加速进入印度电力系统所造成的社会破坏的角度研究了这种影响。我们的审查驱动型分析表明，可再生能源发电量的增加推动了燃煤电厂在低负荷条件下的运行，导致燃煤电厂的磨损加剧，因为它们不适合灵活运行。对由于可再生能源和煤炭发电之间的市场均等导致的社会破坏的新颖分析，提出了对印度电力系统政治经济学的整体看法。我们发现，从煤炭向可再生能源的过渡可能会扩大社会政治影响，从而有可能以前所未有的规模破坏国民经济。我们的研究针对《 2020年电力（修订）条例草案》所概述的政策含义包括确定社会技术框架，该框架通过更好的资金支持机制灵活地运行燃煤电厂，仅支持能源过渡。随着可再生能源和常规燃料达到市场平价，重点在于清理关闭燃煤电厂，并促进对电池存储技术和跨境电力贸易的投资。我们的研究针对《 2020年电力（修订）条例草案》所概述的政策含义包括确定社会技术框架，该框架通过更好的资金支持机制灵活地运行燃煤电厂，仅支持能源过渡。随着可再生能源和常规燃料达到市场平价，重点在于清理关闭燃煤电厂，并促进对电池存储技术和跨境电力贸易的投资。我们的研究针对《 2020年电力（修订）条例草案》所概述的政策含义包括确定社会技术框架，该框架通过更好的资金支持机制灵活地运行燃煤电厂，仅支持能源过渡。随着可再生能源和常规燃料达到市场平价，重点在于清理关闭燃煤电厂，并促进对电池存储技术和跨境电力贸易的投资。