India’s Energy Transition Advancing Across States, but Progress Remains Uneven: Report

A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and Ember revealed that India's transition towards clean energy is advancing unevenly across states, with different regions making progress at different parts of the transition.

The report titled Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) 2026 evaluated 21 states across three dimensions- decarbonisation, readiness of the power ecosystem, and market enablers. 

The report revealed that while some states are cutting emissions by increasing renewable energy use, others are strengthening power distribution systems or introducing market reforms to support green power.

Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala at the Forefront of the Transition 

According to the report, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala have progressed well in decarbonising their electricity systems with a high renewable energy share in their procurement mix and lower power sector emissions intensity. The states are poised to gain more ground in their transition journey by addressing the gaps in their grid readiness, health of distribution companies (DISCOMs), and market-enabling conditions.

The report noted that Delhi and Haryana have continued to perform well in the readiness and performance of their power ecosystems as both states recorded high levels of distributed solar adoption, reliable power supply, and relatively sound DISCOM performance.

The report further added that Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan have shown progress driven by strong policies such as green tariffs, and solar hour-aligned time-of-day (ToD) tariffs. Additionally, Bihar and Assam have also shown progress driven by improvement in their electric vehicle ecosystem, availability of attractive green tariffs, introduction of solar-hour-aligned ToD tariffs and updates to their renewable energy policies in 2025.

Ruchika Shah, co-author of the report and Energy Analyst at Ember said, ““India’s electricity transition is maturing into a multi-speed transition, where instead of a single leader across all areas, we are witnessing new leaders in specific areas. This requires a more targeted approach to policies and interventions to ensure the momentum is evenly spread.”

Progress Remain Uneven Across Dimensions

The report pointed out that several states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Assam, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh performed well in two out of three dimensions, but displayed structural gaps elsewhere. 

Eastern states such as West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha remained in early stages of their decarbonisation journey. These states recorded low renewable shares in power procurement, and underutilisation of their renewable potential. 

The report mentioned that Odisha remained heavily reliant on thermal power due to legacy coal-based infrastructure, the local availability of coal, and a workforce dependent on thermal power plants. The report emphasised that accelerating renewable capacity additions, strengthening DISCOM finances, and improving energy efficiency will be critical for these states. 

The report found that accelerating India’s electricity transition will require coordinated national and state-level actions, with targeted, dimension-specific interventions to address gaps in the areas where individual states show slower progress.