With 35 years of diverse leadership experience across the power sector value chain, Vivek Singla recently joined Power
Exchange India Limited (PXIL) as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO). Prior to joining PXIL, he served as president and head of the green hydrogen and transmission businesses at Re–new Power. He has also held senior leadership roles in the Adani Group, the Tata Power Group, Uttaranchal Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, BSES, Siemens and BHEL.
According to Singla, the Indian power sector is currently at an inflection point, where large-scale renewable capacity addition is taking place at an unprecedented pace. At this juncture, market participants are striving to meet the country’s steadily growing electricity demand through clean and green power at affordable prices. However, the increasing share of renewables poses challenges to grid stability and reliability. To address these concerns, the industry is progressively transitioning from plain vanilla solar and wind projects to renewable energy solutions with energy storage systems.
In the context of power exchanges, India is rapidly moving towards competitive electricity markets where buyers and sellers decide the price of electricity based on demand and supply conditions. Implementation of market coupling is a significant development from India’s energy security perspective, as it reduces overreliance on any particular power exchange and mitigates the risk of a monopolistic market structure.
As per Singla, his most memorable assignment was the turnaround of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited’s distribution business. AT&C losses were brought down by putting in place modern distribution infrastructure, employing automation and by taking stringent measures to reduce electricity thefts.
Another key assignment involved setting up Adani Energy Solutions Limited’s transmission and distribution business. The task required him and his team to operate across many states with extensive high voltage transmission lines, serving millions of consumers in Mumbai and the Mundra SEZ.
Singla’s management style is hands-on and outcome-oriented, with a strong emphasis on leading from the front. At PXIL, his focus is on building a future-ready talent pool with deep domain expertise.
He encourages team leaders to take decisions on their own and create a conducive environment for the introduction of new products.