India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF)

What India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) does

India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) is a not-for-profit society established in 2011 as a Public Private Partnership initiative of the Government of India's Ministry of Power, headquartered in New Delhi. Operating through a secretariat of 15+ staff, ISGF functions as a policy advisory think-tank, standards influencer, training provider, and event organiser focused on smart grid modernisation, renewable integration, electric mobility (including Vehicle-to-Grid), energy storage, and emerging technologies such as AI/ML for utilities. Its portfolio spans the India Smart Grid Knowledge Portal (launched 2013), the annual India Smart Utility Week (ISUW) conference, the monthly Smart Grid Bulletin (75,000+ circulation across 100+ countries), the National Solar Rooftop PV Registry, the Distribution Utility Meet, the ISGF Innovation Awards, and technical reports/handbooks including the Smart Grid Handbook for Regulators and the 2025 AI/ML/VR/AR/Robotics Handbook.

ISGF generates revenue through four primary streams: tiered industry membership fees (Rs 1L-5L joining plus Rs 50K-1L annual based on Annual Global Revenue), ISUW conference and exhibition fees and sponsorships (2,000+ delegates, 230+ speakers in 2026), training and capacity-building programs (35,000+ professionals trained cumulatively since 2013), and project-based advisory services to utilities, government bodies, and international partners such as GGGI. The membership base spans utilities (Tata Power Delhi Distribution, BSES, MSEDCL, Kerala State Electricity Board), central ministries and regulators (Ministry of Power, CEA, BEE), technology providers (Hitachi Energy, Genus Power), and academia (IIT Madras).

ISGF's strategic positioning is anchored in its PPP status, which provides regulatory proximity to Bureau of Indian Standards committees, the Central Electricity Authority, and 23 state electricity regulatory commissions that issued concessional EV charging tariffs based on ISGF recommendations. Its international footprint includes bilateral workshops with 7+ country partners (European Commission 11 editions, USA 9, Sweden 5, France 3), chairmanship of the Global Smart Energy Federation (since 2016), and the 2022 ISGAN Award of Excellence. Recent 2025-2026 expansion includes a five-country ALCBT buildings decarbonisation project with GGGI, a V2G demonstration with Tata Motors, Watt&Well, and Nuvve, and a solar-grid integration MoU with NISE.

Name

India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF)

Legal name

India Smart Grid Forum

Website

https://indiasmartgrid.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ISGF is a not-for-profit PPP think-tank under India's Ministry of Power that advises on smart grid modernisation, e-mobility, and energy transition. It serves Indian and international utilities, regulators, and technology providers through annual events, training, standards work, and policy advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smart Grid Advisory Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grid Interconnection, Transmission Policy & Market Rules (EUAMANAC), Incentives, Subsidies & Tax Policy (ITC/PTC, FiTs, Auctions/CfDs) (EUAMANAE), Incentives, Grants & Program Administration (Auctions, Tenders, IRA/ITC/PTC Advisory) (EUAMAAAJ)

Keywords

• Smart grid advisory
• Energy transition consulting
• Electric mobility research
• Renewable energy policy
• Smart utility training

Headquarters

HQ city

Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: ISGF generates revenue through tiered membership fees from industry members based on their Annual Global Revenue (AGR). Government institutional members, utility members, and associate/academic members have different fee structures. Industry members with AGR above Rs 100 Crores pay joining contribution of Rs 5 lakhs and annual contribution of Rs 1 lakh; those with AGR Rs 20-100 Crores pay Rs 3 lakhs joining and Rs 50,000 annual; and those below Rs 20 Crores pay Rs 1 lakh joining and Rs 50,000 annual. Individual and honorary memberships are by invitation, typically without fees.
2. Training and Capacity Building Programs: Revenue generated from fees for training programs, workshops, master classes, and online training programs. Members receive 20% discount on training fees. Programs cover smart grids, electric mobility, renewable energy integration, cyber security, and other energy transition domains.
3. India Smart Utility Week (ISUW) Conference and Exhibition: ISUW is ISGF's flagship annual event, a major international conference and exhibition on smart grids, electric mobility, and smart cities. Revenue comes from delegate fees, exhibition booth rentals, sponsorships, and event registrations. The event attracts 2000+ delegates, 230+ speakers, and representatives from 40+ utilities from multiple countries.
4. Advisory Services and Technical Consulting: ISGF provides advisory services to utilities, government bodies, and industry on smart grid implementation, EV infrastructure planning, energy storage roadmap development, and policy formulation. These consulting engagements generate project-based revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

ISGF is a not-for-profit Public Private Partnership think-tank, registered in 2011 under the Indian Societies Act, that advises the Ministry of Power and Indian electricity utilities on smart-grid modernisation, electric mobility, renewables integration, and cyber security. It sells tiered memberships, paid training and capacity-building programs, advisory/consulting engagements, exhibition booths and sponsorships at its flagship India Smart Utility Week (ISUW) conference, and operates the India Smart Grid Knowledge Portal (ISGKP) and the National Solar Rooftop PV Registry as digital platforms serving its member ecosystem.

Product overview

India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) is a not-for-profit think-tank established as a Public Private Partnership initiative of Government of India in 2011. ISGF offers a comprehensive suite of knowledge products and services for energy transition, grid modernization, and electric mobility in India. The portfolio includes the India Smart Grid Knowledge Portal (website), India Smart Utility Week (annual international conference), ISGF Innovation Awards (recognition program), Distribution Utility Meet (utility professionals forum), Smart Grid Bulletin (monthly newsletter), Technical Reports and Whitepapers (research publications), Training and Capacity Building Programs (educational offerings), National Solar Rooftop PV Registry (digital platform), and V2G Technology Demonstration projects. These products collectively support policy advocacy, research, standards development, training, and stakeholder engagement across the power sector ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• India Smart Utility Week (ISUW): ISGF's flagship annual international conference and exhibition on Smart Grids, Smart Cities, and Electric Mobility, conducted since 2015

Products and services

• India Smart Utility Week (ISUW) ISGF's flagship annual international conference and exhibition on smart grids, smart cities, and electric mobility, held in New Delhi. Generates revenue through delegate fees, exhibition booths, sponsorships, and ISGF Innovation Awards; attracts 2,000+ delegates, 230+ speakers, and 40+ utilities in the 2026 edition (12th edition). Co-locates bilateral workshops with international partners.
• Training and Capacity Building Programs Paid educational programs including onsite and online training, master classes, webinars, and workshops for utilities, regulators, policymakers, and industry professionals on smart-grid technologies, EV infrastructure planning, renewable integration, and cyber security. Members receive 20% discount.
• Advisory Services Project-based technical consulting services to central ministries, regulators (CEA, CERC, BIS), state DISCOMs and industry on smart-grid implementation, EV charging-infrastructure planning, energy-storage roadmaps, demand-side management, and policy formulation.
• National Solar Rooftop PV Registry Digital platform developed with MNRE support providing a centralised, real-time, scalable repository of rooftop solar systems across India, organised hierarchically by state, DISCOM, feeder, and distribution transformer, with Power BI dashboards for generation analytics, peak load shaving, and prosumer activity monitoring.
• Distribution Utility Meet (DUM) Annual industry event for distribution utility professionals covering 40+ Indian distribution utilities. 8 editions held with participation of 4,000+ utility professionals sharing best practices, challenges, and solutions in smart metering, loss reduction, distribution automation, and EV charging rollouts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 35,000 professionals trained through ISGF's programs since 2013, leading to ISGAN Award of Excellence (first prize) in 2022 for building inclusive workforce for energy transition.
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Delaware (UDEL), USAcoreTechnology or Integration · 19 May 2026Provided technical support for South Asia's first V2G pilot demonstration. UDEL has significant expertise in bidirectional EV charging and vehicle-to-grid technology, having demonstrated the technology in the USA. The partnership enabled ISGF to leverage international best practices for India's V2G ecosystem development.
• BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026One of three private distribution companies in Delhi participating in the V2G pilot demonstration. BRPL hosted V2G testing infrastructure at its distribution facilities, contributing to testing of bidirectional energy flows between Tata Nexon EVs and the local distribution grid.
• BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Delhi distribution utility partner in the V2G demonstration project. BYPL hosted V2G pilot infrastructure at its facilities to test grid integration of bidirectional EV charging for renewable energy balancing and peak load management.
• TATA Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Delhi DISCOM partner in the V2G pilot, contributing distribution infrastructure and operational expertise for testing bidirectional power flows and grid stability use cases.
• ANERT Kerala (Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Kerala's renewable energy research agency participating in the V2G pilot demonstration, bringing expertise in renewable energy integration and serving as the Kerala-based utility partner for testing distributed renewable energy with V2G technology.
• Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 May 2026GGGI onboarded ISGF as Engagement & Outreach Partner for the Asia Low Carbon Buildings Transition (ALCBT) Project. The five-year initiative spans Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, funded by Germany's BMUKN under the IKI. In India, the project has registered 1,687 buildings, assessed 302 using BEAT tool, and trained 2,400+ professionals across 18 states.
• National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2026ISGF and NISE signed an MoU on January 16, 2026 to collaborate on technical and knowledge-led initiatives in solar energy integration and grid modernisation. Focus areas include grid integration of solar, smart inverters for DERs, rooftop solar with battery storage, solar forecasting, and capacity building.
• Watt&Well, FrancecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 July 2025French technology provider that supplied 11kW Bidirectional Modular Power Units (BMPUs) for the Tata Nexon EVs in the V2G pilot demonstration. The BMPUs enable bidirectional power flow between EV batteries and the AC grid.
• Nuvve Holding Corp, USAcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 July 2025US-based company supplying AC bidirectional chargers (19-52 kW) for the V2G pilot. Nuvve's bidirectional charging technology enables grid services aggregation and is demonstrated extensively in the USA.
• Central Electricity Authority (CEA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerObserver in the V2G project; CEA provides regulatory oversight and standards guidance. ISGF works closely with CEA on standards development including smart inverters (IEEE 1547-2018 adoption) and transformer specifications.
• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISGF works closely with BIS on standards development for smart grids, smart meters (IS:16444, IS:15959), EV charging infrastructure (IS:17017 series), energy storage systems (IS:17092:2019), and smart inverters.
• Ministry of Power, Government of IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISGF was established as a PPP initiative of Ministry of Power in 2011. The Ministry provides institutional backing and ISGF contributes to policy formulation, standards development, and program implementation for the power sector.
• European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner11 editions of bilateral smart grid workshops conducted with European Commission since 2014. These workshops have facilitated technology cooperation and led to demonstration project grants for India from European Commission.
• Global Smart Energy Federation (GSEF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISGF serves as the India chapter and its President chairs GSEF. The federation enables global collaboration in smart energy, facilitating knowledge sharing and partnerships across 61 countries.
• Open Charge Alliance (OCA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with OCA to publish the report 'OCPP & UPI Mobile Payments' exploring integration of India's UPI with OCPP protocol for EV charging payments, simplifying and automating EV charging experiences.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• BloombergNEF: Provides energy research and advisory across the world; a broader incumbent in the energy transition research space that competes for utility and policy-stakeholder mindshare with ISGF's analytical outputs.
• International Energy Agency (IEA): Global energy policy authority whose EV Outlook 2020 cited ISGF's work; serves a comparable thought-leadership function on energy transition at an international scale and engages ISGF as a collaborating partner.
• NITI Aayog: Government of India's premier policy think-tank covering the entire economy; ISGF contributes as a knowledge partner for energy/storage topics but NITI Aayog is the larger incumbent shaping national energy policy direction.

Direct peers

• Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP): India-based research and policy think-tank advising on power, energy systems, and sustainable development; comparable in form and function to ISGF as a small, mission-driven policy institute engaging with government and utilities.
• Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW): One of Asia's leading climate and energy policy think-tanks producing research and advisory work for Indian government and utilities across clean energy, power sector reform, and clean transport — directly overlapping ISGF's policy advocacy remit.
• TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute): India's largest energy and sustainability research institute; operates as a think-tank and policy advisor on energy, climate, and sustainable development with advisory, training, and convening functions parallel to ISGF.
• Global Smart Energy Federation (GSEF): Global federation of which ISGF is the India chapter, focusing on smart energy, e-mobility, and grid modernization; provides the international platform/brand under which ISGF operates and convenes globally.

Emerging players

• Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI): Independent energy transition research and advisory institute operating globally on renewable integration, EVs, and grid modernization; comparable in mission to ISGF with a more international, private-funded operating model.

Peers

• Climate Policy Initiative (CPI): International policy analysis and advisory organization working on climate and energy finance, including in India. Comparable as a global-to-India policy advisory and convening counterpart but with a broader climate-finance orientation.

Regional players

• World Energy Council (India): Global energy leadership network with India presence; holds convening and policy dialogues comparable to ISGF's ISUW and bilateral workshops, primarily oriented around global membership rather than India-focused utility engagement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IndiaSmartGridF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/india-smart-grid-forum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF)