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Speakers of DUM 2018

Anil Srivastava

Mr. Anil Srivastava has over three decades of working experience with Government in India. He has taken over as Adviser for Infrastructure Connectivity and Director General of Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office at NITI Aayog, after having done more than five years as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Prior to this, he has held various senior level positions of responsibility including that of Chairman & Managing Director, Pawan Hans Ltd. for three years. With the State Government he has held the positions of Secretary to the Government of various departments including Finance, Revenue, New & Renewable Energy, Commerce & Industries etc. He has also worked as Commissioner of Treasuries, Commissioner of Industries & Commerce, Managing Director of various PSU’s, District Magistrate and Municipal Administrator. He has also served on the Boards of Optel Telecommunications, Hotline Glass, Fujitsu Optel National Information Technologies, Air India, Airports Authority of India etc.

He has represented India and led Indian Delegations to (i) ICAO Air Services Negotiation Event, ICAN-2014 at Bali, Indonesia (ii) Diplomatic Conference held at ICAO, Montreal to finalize and adopt a Protocol to amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board an Aircraft (Tokyo 1963) (iii)Air Show at Farnborough, La-Bourget, Moscow, Singapore etc. (iv) World Routes Conference at Chicago in 2014, Las Vegas in 2013 and in Abu Dhabi in 2012 (v) High Level Conference on Aviation Security (HLCAS) convened by ICAO, Montreal in September, 2012. He has been invited to express his thoughts on e-vehicles and mobility/transportation related issues in various national and international events and was a distinguished speaker at WRI, World Bank Group event on Transforming Transportation. He was part of the NITI Aayog delegation to 3rd NITI-DRC Dialogue on World Economic Prospects & China-India Economic Cooperation in December, 2017.

He is a Computer Engineer from IIT, Kanpur and a Management Graduate from IIM, Bangalore. He joined Maxwell School of Public Policy & Citizenship in Fall 2002, completed his Masters in Public Administration in 2003 along with a certificate in Information Technology Policy and Management and pursued PhD in Social Science. Anil is a Fellow of the Computer Society of India, his e-governance initiatives have won him awards. He has participated and presented papers in World Bank Conference onTransparency, Indian Science Conference and other conferences. He has participated in a three weeks Executive Education Program for Senior Managers in Government at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University U.S.A. in 2016. He is driving emobility initiatives of Government of India at NITI Aayog.



Akshima Tejas Ghate

Akshima leads the India program of the Rocky Mountain Institute. She provides leadership to the Institute’s on-going work with the NITI Aayog, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Pune Municipal Corporation, which aims to transform mobility trajectory of Indian cities to a shared, connected and clean path. Prior to joining RMI, Akshima was working as a Senior Fellow and Associate Director at the Transport and Urban Governance Division, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi. At TERI, Akshima led policy research studies focusing on promotion of sustainable and low-carbon development of transport systems for the Govt. of India, state governments, multilateral and bilateral financing agencies and corporate organizations.

She has contributed to several important reports of the Government of India and UN. She was a contributing author of the ‘India Transport Report: Moving India to 2032’ prepared by the National Transport Development Policy Committee of the Government of India. She was also the coordinating author of the Working Group Report on Environmental Sustainability of Indian Cities constituted as part of preparation of the Twelfth Five Year Plan for India. She has also contributed to the Government of India’s Report submission to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and has published several policy briefs, newspaper and magazine articles, research papers and reports on policy issues related to promotion of sustainable transport. She also serves on several committees set up by the Govt. of India and international agencies.

In 2016, Akshima received the prestigious ‘Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship for Sustainable Transport and Energy Efficiency’ awarded by the World Resources Institute, USA. She was also selected for the Indian Leaders Program organized by the Spain India Council Foundation in 2016. She have spent five weeks (Aug-Sep, 2012) at Yale University, USA as a Visiting Fellow under the TERI-Yale collaboration on exchange of researchers. She also served as a Member of the International Scientific Committee (ISC) of CODATU 2017, a prestigious biannual international conference on urban mobility.

In the past, Akshima has also been associated with the TERI University as an Associate Faculty and has been taking guest lectures at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Institute of Urban Transport (India) and International Center for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development (iCED), Jaipur.







Abhishek Ranjan

Additional Vice President and Head Renewable, DSM & EE and Energy Analytics, BRPL , India Head Power Scheduling (System Operator for the Utility), BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, A Power Distribution Licensee & a JV company of Reliance Infrastructure and Govt. of Delhi, India

Career History:
Abhishek has about two decades of experience in Power and Information Technology sectors in India. He started his career with Infosys Technologies Limited, an IT company based in India, where he worked on development of enterprise applications for a major US utility and a technology MNC He is currently leading a team in the areas of Energy Efficiency & Demand Side Management, renewable Integration and Rooftop Solar, grid level Energy Storage solutions, EV charging infrastructure, Power scheduling & demand forecasting and Energy Analytics at BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), New Delhi. BRPL serves over 2.5 Million consumers over an area of 750 sq. Km in Southern and Western parts of national capital Territory of Delhi, India. BRPL is agile to India’s climate change goals and has made concerted efforts to align its operation with nation’s goals through several green initiatives e.g. transition of its power portfolio with ~20% of renewable share in capacity terms, DSM & EE initiatives, promotion of grid connected DERs, other non-wired alternatives like grid level battery storage etc.

Launched community Rooftop Solar initiative (BRPL Solar City Initiative – focussed on residential sector) launched in Jan ’18. Over 900 RTS net-metered connection as on date (~ 30 MWp). Second phase launched recently in Delhi.

Behavioural Energy Efficiency Program covering over 2 Lakh residential consumers in progress in partnership with Oracle Utilities

Launched Student Awareness program (Energy Wise Energy Rise) focussed on Climate change, Pollution and its mitigation, RE integration and energy conservation, covering about 0.1 Million students of Delhi Govt. Schools in partnership with TERI

Undertaking several Energy conservation and efficiency programs for consumers including Efficient cooling and lighting solutions, solar powered energy efficient pumps (grid connected), non-wired alternatives for meeting peak demand e.g. grid level battery storage in license area and faster roll out of EV charging infrastructure for public fleet as well as private owners of EV.

Managing Day ahead and Intra-Day (real time) power scheduling for the license area while following cost-effective multi-source power procurement strategy.BRPL met ~3100 MW peak demand in 2018.

Effective Statistical Demand Forecast model development for accurate prediction of day ahead demand thereby ensuring prudent procurement strategies.

In his earlier assignments, Abhishek has worked on Detailed Project Reports covering power project economics & financing/techno-commercial aspects, Power potential study, tariff analysis and financial closure of Hydro renewable projects in Indian Himalayan states of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Areas of expertise
Power Demand forecasting and power management (system operation functions) Capacity Building & implementation of Rooftop Solar, DSM and Energy efficiency interventions for a Utility Consumer Outreach and management. Education

Abhishek is a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from NIT Bhopal and PGDGM from XLRI Jamshedpur













Arvind Singh

Mr. Arvind Singh (IAS) has been appointed as Principal Secretary, Energy. His previous assignment was as as Managing Director of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd. MSETCL) and Private Secretary to the Union Agriculture Minister at New Delhi.Mr. Arvind Singh, joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1988 in Maharashtra Cadre, after studying economics at St. Stephen’s College and the Delhi School of Economics. His first assignment was as Assistant Collector at Aurangabad in Maharashtra from 1990-1992. Later, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Aurangabad Zila Parishad from 1992-94 and as Chief Executive Officer of Nagpur Zilla Parishad from 1994-96. At Nagpur, he also served as Member Secretary of the Vidharbha Statutory Development Board from 1996-97. During 1997-98, he worked in the office of the Chief Secretary, Maharashtra at Mumbai before moving to Kolhapur as District Collector (1998- 001).Moving to the centre, he joined as Dy. Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India, New Delhi. He worked as Private Secretary to the Union Minister of Shipping from Dec.2001- May 2003. Mr. Singh also served as Director (Pharmaceuticals Industry) in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Govt. of India during 2003-04. He has worked as Private Secretary to the Minister of Consumer affairs, Food and Public Distribution from 2004-05 and to the Minister of Agriculture from 2005-09. Mr. Arvind Singh has taken over the charge as Managing Director of Mahatrashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd. on 21.08.09.






Dr. Rahul Tongia

Dr. Rahul is a Fellow (Non-resident) at Brookings India and the Brookings Institution. Dr. Tongia was on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University for many years, and recently became an Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon. Active in the domain of smart grids, he helped found the Smart Grid Task Force, Govt. of India, as well as the India Smart Grid Forum, a multi-stakeholder body chaired by the Ministry of Power, and is the Advisor to both bodies. Previously, he was also a founding member of the Technology Advisory Board of SmartConnect, Southern California Edison’s $1.2B smart metering / smart grid project. He was also a co-founder and Program Director / Principal Research Scientist at the Center for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy (CSTEP), a Bangalore-based not-for-profit think tank.
He works actively in interdisciplinary issues of technology and policy for sustainable development, with domain expertise in energy/power and also IT/telecom. In addition to Smart Grids, his present work focuses on renewables and renewable integration, shortfalls of electricity and mitigation measures, and electricity pricing.
His past work has focused on a number of energy domains including nuclear power, natural gas imports, electricity pricing, and political economy/reform issues. This extended to affiliated topics of design, innovation, and technology transfer, including Indo-US collaboration. He was also a pioneering scholar in the new domain of ICT (information and communications technology) for development, as well as the digital divide. His experience includes the ability to bridge technical and non-technical domains, working across levels from the big picture to design to project implementation, ranging from pilot projects to larger roll-outs. He has served on a number of Committees and projects on technology and development in the US and India, as well as for telecommunications in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Rahul Tongia’s books and book chapters include “Growing Complexity and Transformations of the Power Sector: India as an Example of Developing Regions Using Enterprise Architecture and Smart Grids.” Chapter in A Systemic Perspective to Managing Complexity with Enterprise Architecture (pp. 454 – 501). Pallab Saha (ed.), Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference (2013); “Web Enabled Metering and Controls for Demand Response” Chapter (with R. Walawalker and B. Colburn) in Web Based Enterprise Energy and Facility Management Systems, Barney Capehart (ed.), Fai











Gopal K. Saxena

Gopal K. Saxena is currently working as Director of BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) & BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) at Delhi. BRPL, along with its Group Company BYPL, are joint ventures of Reliance ADA group of companies with Govt. of National Capital Territory of Delhi and distribute electricity to almost 3.7 million consumers in Delhi (roughly 67% of Delhi’s population).

Gopal Saxena was born in November 1950 and after his schooling from St. Columba’s High School, New Delhi, he graduated from IIT Kanpur in 1972. He has also completed an Advance Management Programme from Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) in collaboration with INTAN, Malaysia and Commonwealth Sectt., UK. He has over 4 decades of rich experience at apex positions in various companies of repute like ACC-Babcock, DCM Group, Essar Group, and Reliance ADA Group.

He has worked in diversified industry segments in core and infrastructure industries including power, engineering, electronics, telecommunications and has vast experience in managing large businesses / operations. He started his career with ACC Babcock, one of the largest manufacturers of power & industrial boilers and Cement machinery and worked with them for over 10 years. On deputation to Babcock & Wilcox Ltd. UK, he was involved in technology transfer for manufacture of boilers. In recent years, he has been closely involved with developments in the power industry (licensing, generation, financing, regulatory and distribution).

In his 7 years tenure in BSES, Mr. Saxena has held several key positions in both Companies.

August 2007 – Oct’ 2009 – Vice President / COO, BSES Yamuna Power Ltd.

October 2009 – Jan’, 2014 – CEO, BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd.

Jan’ 2014 onward – Director, BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd. / BSES Yamuna Power Ltd.


Mr. Saxena has been / is a Member of following Working Group/Board/Committee-

1. Independent Director, West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd.

2. Member, Advisory Group on distribution Reforms – Ministry of Power

3. Member, Core Group on Distribution Reform – CII

4. FICCI Power Committee(s)

5. CII National Committee on Power: 2015 – 16

6. Center for Smart Grid Collaborative Research and Development

7. Working Group-3 on “access of power to rural areas and reliability and power to urban area” of India Smart Grid Task Force

8.Working Group for the 12th Plan for Power

He is widely traveled and has been a member of various Indian and international Associations and Forums.

























Reena Suri

Reena Suri, Executive Director with India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) since 2013, brings over 19 years of experience in the Energy Sector. She is responsible for the research projects, advisory services, business development, training and capacity building programs, customer outreach activities, members relations and finances of ISGF. Reena has contributed to the various advisory services, whitepapers and research reports of ISGF such as: Implementation Plan for Electrification of Public Transportation in Kolkata City; Smart Grid Handbook for Regulators and other Stakeholder; Blockchain for Electric Utilities; Energy Storage Roadmap for India; Smart Grid Roadmap for Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd; Development of Roadmap for Implementation of Smart Grid – Concepts, Practices and Technologies in SAARC Region; Study on Infrastructure and Enabling Environment for Road Electric Transport in SAARC Member States; and World Bank EV Project: EV Ecosystem Support for Kolkata.

Reena is the founder-editor of the Smart Grid Bulletin published by ISGF since January 2014 which has online circulation of over 50,000 senior professionals in 100+ countries. As an outreach specialist, she has been involved in development of the Customer Outreach programs for the utilities implementing the Smart Grid projects in India. The outreach program helps the utilities to educate the project benefits to the customers well in advance of the start of project implementation. Reena is also responsible for designing and delivering training and capacity building programs on various domains of Smart Grids for Policy Makers, Regulators and Utility Officials. Reena is instrumental in making the India Smart Grid Knowledge Portal (www.indiasmartgrid.org), one of the most popular portals on smart grids globally.

Reena has worked with ISGF Board to conceive, design, develop and the successful delivery of ISGF’s Annual Event, India Smart Utility Week (ISUW, www.isuw.in) since 2015. She is the principal show director of ISUW which in a short span has grown to be the signature event on Smart Grids and Smart Cities around the world.

Prior to joining ISGF, Reena has worked with various International organisations such as Tetra Tech, Nexant Inc., PA Consulting and Academy for Educational Development (AED). She has worked on energy related projects funded by United States Agency for International Development such as Distribution Reform, Upgrades and Management (DRUM) Project, South Asia Regional Energy Initiative for Energy (SARI/E) and Small Grants Program. Under the DRUM Project, Reena worked with electricity distribution companies in India to help them upgrade their infrastructure to match international benchmarks. Reena has also helped in developing several modules on Smart Grid and been instrumental in conducting Train the Trainer workshops. She was involved in conducting a series of Smart Grid Maturity Model (SGMM) workshops for utilities in India. These workshops enabled her to study the position of Indian utilities on SGMM landscape and their aspirations for future. Reena assisted BESCOM in design of their IT Strategy and Roadmap and Pilot Architecture Design for a Smart Grid Pilot.







Reji Pillai

Reji is the President of India Smart Grid Forum (www.indiasmartgrid.org) since its inception in 2011 and is also the Chairman of Global Smart Grid Federation since November 2016. He is an internationally renowned expert with over three decades of experience in the electricity sector in diverse functions covering the entire value chain and across continents. He is spearheading a mission to leverage technology to transform the electric grid in India and light every home at affordable cost through sustainable developmental models. Reji played the pivotal role in formulation of the Smart Grid Vision and Roadmap for India (August 2013) and the launch of a National Smart Grid Mission (March 2015) by Government of India, issue of Model Smart Grid Regulations (June 2015) by Forum of Regulators; and issue of National Standards for Smart Meters (IS: 16444 -2015 and IS 15959 Part 2), Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (IS: 17017-2018) by Bureau of Indian Standards; and Energy Storage Roadmap for India (2019). He is presently advocating for a “Right to Electricity Act” that will ensure lifeline supply of electricity to all citizens in the country. His current areas of research and work include: Energy Storage Systems, Integration of Distributed Renewable Energy Resources and Electric Vehicles on the Low Voltage Distribution Grid, Smart Grids as Anchor Infrastructure for Smart Cities, Development of Smart City Maturity Model and Electric Vehicle Maturity Model, Grid Interactive Buildings and Campuses, Blockchain for Utilities; Future of Transportation; Policies and Business Models for Electric Vehicle Rollouts and Charging Infrastructure; and Interconnection of Regional Grids in Asia - ASEAN, SAARC and GCC grids.

In November 2016 Reji was unanimously elected as Chairman of Global Smart Grid Federation (GSGF), a global umbrella organization of smart grid associations from 16 countries and the European Union. As an entrepreneur, Reji has built successful enterprises in India and overseas and exited them. He has studied Engineering, Finance, Management and Law; worked with NTPC and IBM and has been senior consultant with ADB, World Bank and USAID. A recognized thought leader in smart grid technologies, concepts of smart cities and electric vehicles, Reji is a popular key-note speaker at international symposiums and conferences on smart grids, smart cities and e-Mobility. He has also contributed to several articles, books, research reports and white papers on variety of topics.



Ravi Seethapathy

After a 35+ year career in Canadian Electric Utilities and Power Systems area, Ravi Seethapathy is now an Advisor to the Utility/Industry. He sits on the Boards of Smart Grid Canada, India Smart Grid Forum, and Biosirus Inc. His current international technical activities include (1) Cigre Convener WGC6.28-Remote Islanded Grids; (2) IEA PVPS Taskforce 14 – Large Scale Solar Integration; (3) IEC TC 120 – Energy Storage; (4) IEC SEG4-LVDC; and (5) India Smart Grid Forum- Chair WG5 (Renewables and Microgrids).
He is an invited speaker in the international Smart Grid area having co-authored over 50 technical papers. He is also mentors/Chairs a small technology company Biosirus Inc. (engaged in Energy Efficiency, Pico/Nano/Microgrid and other select leading technologies globally). Retired in 2014 after 31 year career in a leading Utility in Canada where he managed leading portfolios in R&D, Innovation, Smart Grid Projects, Energy Storage, Renewable Energy Integration, and Asset Management. His Past Corporate Directorships include Toronto Atmospheric Fund, Ryerson University, TV Ontario, Scarborough Hospital, Nevaro Capital Corp, Engineers without Borders (Chair), Canadian Club of Toronto (President), Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (President).
He has received numerous honours and citations including Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), Fellow Canadian Academy of Engineering (2012), Hydro One President’s Award (2008), Honour Roll of the Shastri Institute (2008), Honorary Fellow, Centennial College (2005), Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (1996) to name a few. His education includes a B. Tech (Hons) in Electrical Power from IIT, Kharagpur, India; an M. Eng. in Electrical Power from the University of Toronto; and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University. He together with my family has endowed an IEEE Award in “Rural Electrification Excellence”









Sanjeev Kumar

Shri. Sanjeev Kumar took over as Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd.(MSEDCL) on 21st Dec 2015.

Shri. Sanjeev Kumar holds a degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering from University of Roorkee (now known as IIT Roorkee) and M.Tech in Communication Engineering from IIT, Kanpur. He also holds a degree in Financial Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institution of Management Studies, Mumbai University.

Shri. Sanjeev Kumar is an IAS officer of Maharashtra Cadre, 1993 batch. He possesses wide experience of working in the field of infrastructure and Finance in Government of Maharashtra and in Government of India. Prior to current assignment, he has worked in Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation as Joint Secretary & Mission director for Housing for All project.He was mission director for Prime Minister AawasYojna (PMAY) and he designed and launched PMAY in that capacity. He worked as Director in Ministry of Power, Incharge of Rajiv Gandhi GraminVidyutikaranYojna (RGGVY) & Restructured Accelerated Power Development & Reform Program (RAPDRP). Shri Sanjeev Kumar has earlier served in various Ministries and departments of the Government of Maharashtra viz. State Sales Tax Department, Water Supply & Sanitation Department and Industries Department. He has served as Joint CEO of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). He has also has been MD of Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation. He also served as District Collector of Gondia and Jalgaon District in Maharashtra and Divisional Commissioner of Nagpur Division in Vidharbha Region of Maharashtra.



Sanjay Kumar Banga

Mr. Sanjay Kumar Banga is the Chief Executive Officer of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (Tata Power-DDL), a Public Private Partnership (JV) of TATA Power and Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi. The company has a registered consumer base of 1.68 million and reaches out to 7 million consumers in North and North West part of Delhi through its services.

A power sector veteran with around three decades of experience in power generation and distribution business, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Banga brings with him an expertise in the power sector, covering areas of Operational Technologies, Project Management, Utility Business process Re-engineering and Regulatory Environment that are essential for strengthening of electrical utilities to meet reliability and AT&C loss reduction targets under regulatory regime. The learning he gathered through associations with leading public and private sector electrical utilities in India equips him very well to tackle the enormous challenges of the electricity distribution business in India and abroad. His deep knowledge of the subject makes him a regular speaker in seminars / workshops / panel discussions in India and abroad.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar Banga has been associated with Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited since July 2003 and was part of the initial group which transformed the ailing distribution company into a benchmark utility. Mr. Banga firmly believes that the difference between a successful company and its competitors, lies in its ability to execute plans effectively, and that a leader should be involved in execution as much as he associates himself in strategy planning







Speakers of DUM 2017