The BIMSTEC Energy Centre, operating under India’s Ministry of Power, held a five-day training programme on emerging power sector technologies from 14 to 18 September 2026 in Bengaluru. The initiative brought together officials and technical experts from seven member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral and Technical Cooperation to learn about the latest developments in electricity generation, transmission, distribution and end-use applications.
The Programme and Participants
The capacity building programme ran in both in-person and online formats. Representatives from Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand attended sessions in Bengaluru, while Bangladesh, Myanmar and the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka joined remotely. The Ministry of Power inaugurated the event through senior officials including the Executive Director of the BIMSTEC Energy Centre and the Chairperson of the Central Electricity Authority.
The five days covered a broad range of topics aligned with modern power systems:
- Renewable energy and battery energy storage systems
- Green hydrogen and carbon capture technologies
- Small modular reactors and smart grids
- Artificial intelligence applications in power management
- Impact of data centre electricity demand
- Advanced transmission systems including FACTS technology and high-temperature conductors
Participants also visited major power installations around Bengaluru, including a 2500 megawatt HVDC station, a green hydrogen electrolyzer factory, control rooms for regional power distribution and training facilities operated by the National Power Training Institute.
What this means for you
If you work in the power or energy sector across South Asia, this kind of regional knowledge-sharing helps your country adopt newer and cleaner technologies faster. For students and professionals aspiring to work in electricity infrastructure, it signals growing emphasis on skills in renewable energy, storage systems and smart grid management. The BIMSTEC Energy Centre, which became operational in April 2025, will continue organising similar programmes to strengthen energy cooperation and security across the region.