India has reiterated its commitment to strengthening regional energy cooperation and energy security while advancing a secure, resilient, affordable and sustainable energy future at the 20th East Asia Summit (EAS) Energy Ministers’ Meeting held in Manila, Philippines.
Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, represented India at the meeting and highlighted the country’s priorities for deeper cooperation with ASEAN and other EAS participating countries across power transmission, multilateral electricity trade, renewable energy, energy storage and emerging clean energy technologies.
Emphasising India’s Act East Policy and its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN, Shri Naik welcomed the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2026–2030. He also underlined the importance of cooperation under the ASEAN India Plan of Action 2026–2030, particularly in areas such as the ASEAN Power Grid, regional power transmission, multilateral power trade, clean energy and energy security.
The Minister recalled Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s announcement at the 22nd ASEAN India Summit in 2025 to support the ASEAN Power Grid initiative by providing training to 400 professionals on grid connectivity.
Highlighting India’s progress in the power sector, Shri Naik said the country’s installed electricity generation capacity had reached 558.8 GW as of September 30, 2026, of which 308 GW was non-fossil capacity, representing 55 per cent of the total installed capacity.
He also highlighted the progress of the PM Surya Ghar programme. As of September 29, 2026, approximately 5.01 million rooftop solar installations had benefited 5.95 million households. India had also achieved 50 per cent of its cumulative installed electricity generation capacity from non-fossil sources in June 2025, five years ahead of its 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target.
On regional electricity interconnection, Shri Naik stated that India and Singapore are exploring options for a proposed 2,000 MW cross-border power interconnection. One option being considered involves a land-based transmission corridor of approximately 3,000 km, connecting Imphal in India to Singapore through Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia.
The proposed interconnection could enable reliable cross-border electricity trade, facilitate greater integration of clean energy and contribute to strengthening regional energy security.
India also expressed its readiness to share its experience in large-scale renewable energy deployment, grid integration, transmission planning, energy storage, green hydrogen and clean energy technologies with EAS participating countries.
Shri Naik called for stronger institutional linkages between the ASEAN Centre for Energy and Indian institutions, including NTPC, POWERGRID, CEA, NIWE, NISE and NPTI.
The Minister further identified opportunities for cooperation in strategic petroleum reserves, emergency preparedness, electricity system resilience, LNG and gas supply security, renewable energy forecasting, battery energy storage, green hydrogen and other emerging energy technologies.
India also expressed interest in knowledge exchange and cooperation with ASEAN partners on Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, while taking into consideration the priorities and circumstances of participating countries.
Reaffirming India’s support for ASEAN’s regional energy integration efforts, Shri Naik backed ASEAN’s efforts to operationalise the Enhanced Memorandum of Understanding on the ASEAN Power Grid and further deepen multilateral power trade across the region.
