Can India Build a South Asian Power Pool Like Europe?

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As Russian troops crossed into Ukraine and missiles began targeting critical infrastructure like power grid, another battle was unfolding. On February 24, 2022, the very day the invasion began, Kyiv made an extraordinary request to synchronise with Europe’s power network.

That decision proved lifesaving. As Russian attacks battered Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, destroying or occupying nearly 70% of its thermal-power generation capacity by May 2024, the country’s lights stayed on in large part because electricity could flow across borders. Through interconnectors with Europe, Ukraine imported as much as 2.4GW of power, equivalent to about one-fifth of its peak demand.

Three years later, on April 28, 2025, a massive blackout swept across Spain and Portugal, leaving 60mn people without electricity. But the recovery began almost immediately. Within 10 minutes, electricity started flowing into Spain through power links with France, followed by support from Morocco.

For many countries around the world, Europe’s interconnected power network has served as a model for regional energy cooperation.

India, too, has long aspired to deepen electricity links with its neighbours. In times of crisis, the resilience of a power system may depend not only on domestic generation capacity but also on the strength of regional connections.

Alok Kumar, former secretary to the ministry of power, government of India, has been a strong proponent of forging regional power networks. “Europe’s experience demonstrates that integrating electricity markets across countries and leveraging differing demand patterns lowers system costs and enhances reliability,” he points out.

Source: Wikipedia