India’s electricity system is at a turning point. Rapid renewable energy deployment, the rise of electric mobility, and growing decentralisation are reshaping how power is generated and consumed. Yet the grid that underpins this transition was not designed for such complexity. To ensure reliability, affordability, and resilience, India must move beyond incremental digitalisation and embrace system-level intelligence. Digital twins offer that next leap.
Smart grids have already laid important groundwork. Advanced metering, real-time monitoring, and improved communications have enhanced visibility across the network. These efforts, led by initiatives such as the National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) and the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), are strengthening the grid’s perception and communication layers. But visibility alone is no longer sufficient. Policymakers now need tools that can anticipate stress, simulate outcomes, and guide decisions before failures occur.
This is where digital twins become strategically important. A digital twin is a continuously updated virtual representation of the physical grid, fed by live data from sensors, meters, control systems, and geographic information platforms. Unlike static models, digital twins evolve in real time, reflecting how the system actually behaves under changing conditions.
Much of India’s thinking on smart grid architecture and digital twins draws from the work of Dr. N. Vedachalam, Senior Scientist and Programme Director at the National Institute of Ocean Technology, who has long emphasised the role of real-time intelligence in building resilient, future-ready infrastructure.
From a policy perspective, the value of digital twins lies in foresight. They allow regulators and system operators to test the impact of decisions, such as integrating large volumes of renewables, expanding transmission capacity, or revising market rules, before implementation. This reduces risk, improves investment efficiency, and strengthens long-term planning.
International experience reinforces this case. Power utilities in Japan and Singapore use predictive digital twins to anticipate asset failures linked to extreme weather. In the United Kingdom, digital twins are being developed to monitor power flows and grid health from substations to end users. China and European grid operators deploy them to manage renewable integration and cross-border electricity flows. These examples show that digital twins are no longer experimental, they are becoming core infrastructure.
For India, the stakes are particularly high. More than 70 percent of future power capacity additions are expected to come from renewables, while electricity demand continues to rise. This combination increases operational uncertainty. AI-enabled digital twins can help manage this volatility by supporting real-time grid balancing, predictive maintenance, and faster fault recovery. Over time, they can also enable self-healing capabilities, where sections of the grid isolate and recover from disturbances with minimal human intervention.
Digital twins also strengthen governance. As grids become more digital, cybersecurity risks grow. A virtual replica of the grid allows system operators to simulate cyber-attacks, stress-test defences, and design response protocols without jeopardising live operations. This capability is critical for national energy security.
However, realising this potential requires policy alignment. Digital twins must be embedded within smart grid standards, supported by interoperable data frameworks, low-latency communication networks, and clear governance structures. Investments in hardware alone will not suffice; software intelligence, data quality, and institutional capacity must evolve together.
India has already invested significantly in measurement infrastructure through PMUs, smart meters, and control centres. The next policy step is to integrate these assets into a national-scale digital twin framework, effectively creating a “twin of twins” across generation, transmission, and distribution.
The transition to a clean, reliable, and resilient power system will not be won by infrastructure expansion alone. It will be shaped by how intelligently the system is designed and operated. Digital twins offer policymakers a rare opportunity: the ability to see the future consequences of today’s decisions. India should seize it.
