Mumbai, Dec 5 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that Maharashtra is set to strengthen its power distribution network through a ‘Digital Twin’ model for solar and other renewable energy sources.

He said that the distribution company MahaVitaran will soon implement an AI-based digitisation initiative in collaboration with leading international organisations.

“This marks the beginning of environment-friendly and sustainable development through AI technology in the state’s energy sector,” he said.

He said that through the cooperation of RF and GEAPP, this state-of-the-art AI-based global platform will set a benchmark for power utilities across India.

The Chief Minister said that AI-driven decision-support tools will significantly enhance customer service and help strengthen MahaVitaran’s financial foundation.

“The solutions being developed will offer long-term, sustainable and effective support to the power distribution sector. This is the first-ever attempt to develop a Digital Twin for electricity distribution,” he said.

The Chief Minister added that the innovative AI initiative is expected to drive major improvements in the use of sustainable and eco-friendly green energy, especially in rural areas.

According to the Chief Minister, farmers and electricity consumers in rural Maharashtra will gain more reliable and easily accessible power through this technology.

“With global-level AI systems and direct energy-sector collaboration, Maharashtra will deploy advanced digital solutions that will increase the accuracy of power flow, field operations and energy management,” he said.

The Energy Department, in a release, said the initiative will have a significant impact across the sector, adding that the digital transformation enables faster project-level decision-making, improves grid efficiency, and increases the utilisation of solar energy.

“With enhanced green energy use, pollution levels will be reduced substantially. A reduction of even 1 per cent in power losses could save Rs 1,000-1,500 crore annually, thereby reducing financial losses considerably,” said the department.

It said that owing to international collaboration, this initiative could become a major milestone in stabilising power supply and improving service quality in fast-developing countries like India.

“Maharashtra now has an important opportunity to contribute to India’s vision of a sustainable, environment-friendly, and self-sufficient energy system,” it said.

The department said that through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digitisation, MahaVitaran is gearing up to modernise the state’s energy infrastructure, marking the beginning of a new era.

--IANS

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