The BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC) organized a five-day Capacity Building Programme on "New & Emerging Technologies in Power Sector (Generation, Transmission, Distribution & End Use)" from September 14 to 18, 2026 in Bengaluru, conducted in hybrid mode under the aegis of India's Ministry of Power. The programme was inaugurated on September 14, 2026 by Ghanshyam Prasad, Executive Director of BEC and Chairperson of Central Electricity Authority, along with Pankaj Kumar, Joint Secretary (Transmission) of Ministry of Power. The inaugural session was attended by senior officials including J Sreedevi (Director General, CPRI), Asit Singh (Member Secretary, SRPC), M S Hejib (Executive Director, POWERGRID SRTS-II), and T Srinivas (Executive Director, SRLDC, GRID-INDIA).
Participants from all seven BIMSTEC Member States attended the programme, with Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand participating in person, while Bangladesh, Myanmar and the BIMSTEC Secretariat from Dhaka joined online. The programme provided a platform for technical capacity building, exchange of national experiences, and sharing of best practices in the rapidly evolving power sector.
The technical curriculum covered key emerging technologies across the power sector value chain, including Renewable Energy, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), Green Hydrogen, Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), Long Duration Energy Storage, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Smart Grids, advanced grid operation technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in power systems, and the impact of Data Centre loads. The programme also addressed advanced transmission technologies such as FACTS, HTLS conductors, Dynamic Line Rating and Grid-Forming Converters, along with the India Energy Stack.
The programme combined classroom sessions with technical and industrial visits to major power-sector facilities in and around Bengaluru, including the 2500MW HVDC Kolar POWERGRID Station, Ohmium International Green Hydrogen Electrolyzer Gigafactory, POWERGRID's RTAMC, SRLDC/REMC Control Rooms, CPRI Laboratory Facilities and Hot Line Training Centre (HLTC), and NPTI.
The programme concluded on September 18, 2026 with a Valedictory Session presided over by Bhagwan Sahay Bairwa, Chief Engineer of CEA. The session included sharing of key learnings, country perspectives and participant feedback, followed by distribution of certificates and acknowledgements. This programme forms part of BEC's continuing capacity-building and knowledge-sharing initiatives aimed at promoting regional energy cooperation among BIMSTEC Member States, providing a foundation for greater cooperation in power-system planning, renewable integration, energy storage, transmission technology, knowledge sharing and electricity trade in the BIMSTEC Region.