The Government of India, alongside the International Solar Alliance (ISA), jointly organised a high-level strategic meeting in the national capital on the Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mission for Energy. The event, held on December 18, brought together senior government officials, power utilities, technology innovators, entrepreneurs, and international partners to discuss how AI can strengthen the resilience, efficiency, and sustainability of energy systems in India and across the Global South.
This strategic convening was organised as a pre-summit dialogue ahead of the AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for February next year in New Delhi. Officials said the focus was to move beyond conceptual debates on AI toward real applications that can be deployed across power grids and energy networks worldwide.
Opening the session, Ashish Khanna, Director General of the International Solar Alliance, stressed that rapid renewable energy growth requires modern digital systems. He noted that with solar capacity expanding across the globe, the digitisation of power distribution systems is now essential rather than optional. Khanna highlighted that AI-enabled tools — such as digital twins, interoperable platforms, and open data protocols — are key to managing variability, reducing system losses, and improving grid performance.
Echoing this operational urgency, Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson of the Central Electricity Authority, underscored the importance of clarity and scale in deploying AI solutions on the ground. He said that as India accelerates the rollout of distributed solar, especially rooftop systems, visibility and control across distribution networks must improve through well-defined AI use cases rather than isolated pilot projects.
International perspectives also featured in the discussions. Florent Mangin, representing the ISA Co-Presidency, emphasised that AI deployment should be trusted, secure, and sustainable if it is to accelerate the clean energy transition. He highlighted the need for cooperation that enables reliable renewable integration, decentralisation of power systems, and affordable access to energy.
The meeting’s technical sessions examined India’s AI products for the global energy transition, including digital grid pilots and the India Energy Stack initiative. Speakers pointed to India’s world-leading electricity grid and the vast amount of real-time data generated by smart meters, noting that effective use of this data could transform utility operations, forecasting, and network optimisation. Recommendations from this dialogue are expected to shape announcements and product portfolios at the upcoming AI Impact Summit 2026.
