By Business India Editorial

The first India-UK energy partnership since the Green Grids announcement by the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP 26 will help decarbonise Indian industry and aim to bring cheaper green power to consumers around the world.

Energy technology pioneer Octopus Energy Group and leading Indian power transmission player Sterlite Power signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Glasgow during the COP26 last month.

The tie-up will aim to apply Sterlite Power’s transmission expertise in the UK and bring more competition to the established grid monopoly. In India, Sterlite Power has been an advocate for unleashing market forces in the transmission sector, making the Indian power grid more competitive and cheaper to run. Since doing so, the sector has been able to operate power grids much more efficiently, with cost reductions of up to 40 per cent compared to legacy methods.

Together, Sterlite Power and Octopus are aiming to build renewable energy generation and storage assets in India and deploy affordable renewable power to large industrial, commercial users. The companies are hoping to also supply this cheap, green power to domestic consumers once the necessary regulations are put in place.

The projects that Octopus and Sterlite Power hope to create will help drive down the needs for coal and natural gas, drastically decarbonising the country’s energy demand and using technology to reduce costs for consumers.

The agreement highlights Octopus Energy Group’s worldwide expansion which has seen it move into 13 countries in just five years, and may soon include the launch of a retail energy business in India.

Octopus Energy Group is the fastest growing UK energy provider, having gained 3.1 million customers since launching in 2016. Its success is based on Kraken, its proprietary energy technology platform, which provides operational efficiency and outstanding customer service whilst driving a greener grid by unlocking smart tariffs. The company recently received a $600 million injection from Generation Investment Management and a further $300 million from Canadian Pension Plan Investments to aid its rapid expansion. Octopus is now valued at more than $5 billion, rivalling the valuation of many long-established energy giants.

Sterlite Power is a leading private sector power transmission infrastructure developer and solutions provider operating in India and Brazil. The company has been increasingly focused on integrating renewable energy into the grid.

“Through this partnership with Sterlite Power, we will be able to offer greener, cheaper options to consumers in both the UK and India and even help India with its goals for decarbonisation through relentlessly cutting emissions from large industrials there,” said Greg Jackson, CEO and Founder of Octopus Energy Group. “The transition to a smart, green energy system has been hampered by unwieldy grid systems that were built to control a few hundred power stations. These systems are not fit to manage millions of electric cars, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries that are all connected to the grid at the same time. What we need is a smart grid that can balance renewable generation with energy demand and drive down the cost. Sterlite Power’s thought-leadership and expertise in this area will bring huge benefits to Britain’s green grid of the future.”