Central Electricity Authority

India's national power planner, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), is studying how large data centres affect the grid. It set up a committee, reported on 1 October 2026, covering the operational, policy and regulatory questions they raise, grid stability and cyber risk to the power sector among them. At a CEA event in New Delhi on 14 October, junior IT minister Jitin Prasada promised a dedicated data-centre policy so consumers do not pay more.

CEA forecasts set the terms of India's data-centre debate: about 17 GW of demand by 2031-32, compared with 1,575 MW of installed data-centre capacity the government reported in August 2026 and 375 MW in 2020. Gujarat alone targets 7.5 GW under the subsidised state policy it published in August.

The authority is a statutory body, first constituted under the Electricity (Supply) Act 1948 and now set up under section 70 of the Electricity Act 2003. It is an attached office of the Ministry of Power. It advises the central government on electricity policy, prepares the National Electricity Plan and specifies technical, safety and grid standards.