Thermal plants must embrace digital resilience, automation: APPDCL director

Vijayawada: Thermal power plants must rapidly strengthen digital resilience and adopt advanced automation systems to meet the twin challenges of operational efficiency and rising cyber threats, said APPDCL director (Thermal & Projects) K Srinivasa Rao while inaugurating “C&I Connect 2026” in Nellore on Thursday. Stressing the need for direct collaboration between plant operators, engineers and technology providers, he said dedicated platforms for knowledge-sharing had become essential as India’s power grid faces increasing pressure from renewable energy integration and load volatility.

South India’s first dedicated conference on Control, Instrumentation and Automation (C&I) in thermal power plants was organised by SEIL (SembCorp Energy India Limited), one of India’s largest independent power producers (IPP), bringing together more than 150 delegates from over 30 companies and equipment suppliers from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Addressing the conference, Srinivasa Rao said thermal power stations were now required to balance efficiency, flexibility and digital security simultaneously, making adoption of intelligent monitoring and automation technologies unavoidable. He appreciated SEIL for initiating the conference and bringing a high-level technical dialogue to Nellore, describing it as a timely intervention for the sector. The two-day conference is being held on the theme, “Sustainable Solutions through Advanced Instrumentation and Cyber-Resilient Systems in Thermal Power Plants.”

Discussions during the event focused on advanced DCS/SCADA systems, Industrial IoT, operational technology cybersecurity, AI and machine learning-driven predictive maintenance, Automatic Generation Control (AGC), flexible plant operations and environmental compliance strategies.

SEIL CEO Janmejaya Mahapatra said thermal power would continue to remain the backbone of India’s energy security for decades ahead, but future-ready plants would be those investing in intelligent systems, robust cyber security and continuous technological innovation. He said the company intentionally chose Nellore as the venue to demonstrate that globally relevant technical discussions on critical infrastructure can happen beyond metropolitan cities and closer to the regions where large-scale power infrastructure actually operates. The conference also created a collaborative platform connecting independent power producers and leading control system and instrumentation vendors, helping bridge the gap between available technologies and practical plant-level implementation.

Day two of the conference on Friday will feature additional technical sessions and working group discussions involving experts from across South India’s thermal power and automation sectors. SEIL Energy India Limited operates a 2,640 MW supercritical thermal power generation complex in SPSR Nellore district with four operational 660 MW units and is among the leading independent power producers contributing to India’s long-term energy security goals. Sunil Kumar Gupta - Head, O&M - SEIL Energy India Limited, and B Madhava Rao, Head - C&I Department, SEIL Energy India Limited were also present.